The Power Of Three
by whitecrossgirl
Summary: A series of one-shots showing the friendship between Merlin, Gwen and Arthur. 23: 'September 11 2001': As the title suggests, the world as Arthur, Merlin and Gwen know it change forever on a sunny September morning in 2001. Written to mark the 12th anniversary of 9/11.
1. A friendship is born

**AN: This is my 100****th**** story on and I decided to do a series of one-shots based around the friendship shared by Arthur, Merlin and Gwen because I think their friendship is one of the best in the series and I wanted to explore various parts of it a bit further. These will range from canon to modern AUs and may include some Arwen as well as possible Mergana or Freylin depending on the situation. Enjoy.**

"How are you feeling?" Gwen asked Merlin as she sat beside his bed, playing with the damp cloth she had used to mop his brow over the past few days. Merlin was still extremely pale but able to sit up and smile at his friend.

"Better but I still feel awful." Merlin rasped slightly, his throat still dry and he slowly sipped at some water that Gwen offered him.

"You had us all scared you know, Morgana allowed me to tend to you instead of her as long as I kept her informed." Gwen explained. Merlin nodded, he wouldn't have thought Lady Morgana would have been too worried about him and even though it wasn't much, it was nice to know the lady had some compassion for his plight.

"What about Arthur? I bet he's disappointed; probably had a new manservant all trained up when I woke." Merlin joked and Gwen shook her head.

"He's in the dungeons. Uther locked him up because Arthur defied his order not to risk his life to save you." Gwen replied and Merlin looked shocked. He wouldn't have thought Uther would have locked up Arthur for doing the right thing.

"Did Arthur know Uther would have done that?" Merlin asked.

"I think that's why he went." Gwen offered. "He obviously knew that doing what's right was more important than Uther's orders."

Merlin scoffed and leant back against his pillow. "Maybe, it's funny. You would almost think that Arthur considered me a friend for doing that."

"Maybe he does." Gwen offered and Merlin shook his head.

"No, I think it's more of a case of him not wanting to have someone new to throw things at all the time. Also how would my fans feel if they could never pelt me in the stocks again?" Merlin joked and the pair of them laughed at that comment. It was true that when Merlin was put into the stocks, he made the children who would pelt him with rotten fruit and vegetables laugh by pulling faces or making jokes or even laughing along with them. If there was such a thing as a popular person to have in the stocks, Merlin was it.

"Well I do always strive to ensure my people are happy."

Gwen quickly bowed her head and Merlin nodded at Arthur who walked into the room and stood at the foot of Merlin's bed. Merlin sat up and looked at Arthur who after a moment smiled at both of them and rested a hand on his shoulder.

"I just wanted to say thank you. If you hadn't have done that well…" Arthur trailed off and Merlin shrugged his shoulders.

"I should say the same to you. Wouldn't have thought you would have defied Uther like that." Merlin reasoned and Arthur shook his head.

"He's over it. Apparently it's proof that I can make my own decisions in times of crisis. As if I haven't proved that on a battlefield already." Arthur dismissed. It had only been an overnight stay in the dungeons, he had slept in worse places and it was worth it.

"When did you get out of the dungeons?" Gwen asked curiously.

"Not too long ago. I just wanted to see how Merlin was. I expect to see you at work tomorrow Merlin." Arthur commented and Merlin rolled his eyes.

"I almost died, you could at least give me the day off to regain my strength." Merlin suggested, Gwen nodded and after a moment Arthur smiled.

"I suppose I could allow you to have one day off." Arthur replied and Merlin gave a slightly rasping laugh and semi-raised his fist.

"Victory for the serving folk!" Merlin joked and both Arthur and Gwen laughed and Arthur turned to Gwen.

"I should thank you as well I think. You were the one who managed to get the flower to Gaius and you barely left Merlin's side since it happened." Arthur said as he walked over and squeezed Gwen's hand and Merlin patted her shoulder and smiled.

"He's right for once. I wouldn't be here if it weren't for you either." Merlin said and Gwen lightly shook her head.

"You're my friend Merlin, if I could have I probably would have gone with Arthur too." Gwen replied; she had been secretly considering the idea of going either with Arthur or in his place. As a servant she wouldn't have been as easily missed as Arthur however she doubted whether she would have been able to found it so quickly or been able to get back in time.

"Well it's all over now," Merlin sighed as he leant back against his pillows, feeling the begins of the gentle allure of sleep reaching him. "You know, I've been thinking-"

"That's worrying." Arthur quipped and Merlin continued.

"The three of us, we make a good team. Gwen's compassion and common sense, Arthur's courage and brawn and my intellect," Merlin reasoned.

"Intellect? You drank from the chalice even though you knew it was poison." Arthur reminded in an incredulous tone, there was a clear difference between doing something smart and doing something stupid.

"Arthur's right, you could have just dropped the chalice or spilt it. You didn't have to drink it." Gwen offered, surely that would have been the sensible option. Merlin was silent before grinning at them.

"Genius can be misunderstood." Merlin commented before his expression grew serious. "I mean it though; the three of us would be a great team and I think if we were friends, nothing would ever ruin that."

There was a moment of silence as Gwen and Arthur thought about what Merlin had said. He did have a point, the three of them were completely different people yet at the same time there was something about the three of them that did make them think that if they were friends then there would be little to change that. The only problem was that the three of them were so different, the prince, the maid and the manservant/secret warlock; any sort of friendship between them really wasn't seen in Camelot. It was rare that nobility and peasantry mixed outside of an employment context but maybe their differences would be what made their friendship so strong.

"I think you might be right Merlin." Arthur said and Gwen nodded in agreement.

"We could at least try." Gwen reasoned, they had nothing to lose if they tried to be friends and if they were all friends, then they were friends.

"Don't see why not? Friends?" Merlin asked as he offered his hands to Arthur and Gwen to shake. Gwen and Arthur shook both his hands before shaking hands with each other.

"Friends," Arthur and Gwen agreed.

None of them knew it then, obviously, but as time passed their friendship became stronger and stronger as it endured numerous tests and threats. While they weren't immediate best friends, it wasn't long before they reached a state of co-dependence; they relied on each other and their friendship more than words could say. There were few things that would be able to bring such different people together and forge such a strong and deep friendship between them but until the end; the three of them were best friends.

It was like Merlin had said; each of them played their own role in their trio. Merlin had his magic and was usually the one who relied most on his knowledge and instincts. Arthur was the leader and was always the first one to throw himself into whatever dangers he needed to save his friends. Gwen served as their voice of reason as well as being the most caring one of the three. Their friendship was three-fold and one of equals, none of them were more important than the other; they were more than friends. In time, they became like a family and that family was one that stuck together until the end.

**AN: I always thought that in the series, even in series 1 and 2, Morgana was always a bit more distant from the others and even though they were all friends, I felt that Merlin, Arthur and Gwen were closer to each other. **


	2. Homecoming

**AN: Modern AU setting.**

"Flight BA345 to London Heathrow is now boarding at Gate 25."

Merlin slipped the book he had been reading back into his shoulder bag and rummaged for his passport which had his flight pass safely folded inside it as he joined the queue for the flight. Merlin had just spent the summer in Spain, staying with his cousin Lancelot who's family had emigrated back to Spain when the boys were ten. Every few years either Merlin's family or Lancelot's would take turns coming to visit however this year, Merlin had been invited to stay for the whole summer. While it had been a fantastic holiday, Merlin found that he was ready to come back home to the UK. Plus university was starting back in a few weeks and he needed to get packed up and ready to return to his studies.

As Merlin boarded the plane and managed to find a seat; he switched off his phone and thought about his friends. Over the summer he had managed to stay in contact with Arthur and Gwen through Facebook and Skype however he knew it wouldn't be long until they would be moving back into their shared house for their final year old university. The three of them lived all over the country. Merlin came from just outside London, Gwen lived up in Manchester and Arthur came from Chelsea. However the contact he had maintained with them both hadn't been the same as actually spending time with his friends.

Merlin pulled his iPod and book from his shoulder bag and sat back in his seat as the cabin crew went over the safety procedures and they took off for the three hour flight from Barcelona to London. As he watched the ground fall away from them, Merlin though about the night he, Arthur and Gwen had met.

_It was the Saturday night which marked the end of Fresher's Week and the student's first full week of living away from home in the university halls. Several people were celebrating by throwing flat parties and in Merlin's block, Flat 10 were having a party and had invitied practically everyone in their block. Merlin attempted to move through the crowd before he bumped into someone and spilled the drink in his hands over their shoes._

"_Hey watch it!" Arthur snapped at the person who had bumped into him and spilt his drink over his shoes. _

"_Sorry mate," Merlin replied and Arthur frowned at him._

"_I'm not your mate, let's see how much you like it." Arthur retorted as he spilt some of his drink over Merlin's. this had caught some of the crowd's attention and as some began chanting for a fight, one of the girls who had been with a group of girls who had been dancing to the music made her way over. _

"_Hey that's enough, come on." Gwen said, this was a decent party and it didn't have to be wrecked by a fight. Gwen tugged both of the lads by the arms and led them into the hallway outside of the flat._

"_Listen it was an accident, I honestly didn't mean to do it. Besides we're students so why would I waste a perfectly good drink like that?" Merlin asked and Arthur shrugged and looked embarrassed._

"_Sorry, I guess I overreacted." Arthur replied as he offered his hand to Merlin who shook it._

"_It's cool, I can wash my hair later. I'm Merlin by the way. I live in Flat 5." Merlin said._

"_I'm Arthur, I live in Flat 11," Arthur replied and they turned to Gwen who had been watching them with a bemused expression. "Who are you?"_

"_Gwen, I live in Flat 14." Gwen replied and Merlin grinned knowingly at Arthur before looking at Gwen._

"_That's the all-girls flat isn't it?" Merlin asked and Gwen nodded._

"_Yeah, so what are you guys studying? I'm doing Business Management." Gwen asked._

"_Education with Spanish," Merlin replied._

"_Physiotherapy, where are you both from?" Arthur asked._

Merlin smiled to himself as he thought about the rest of that long gone Saturday night. The three of them had remained sat out in the corridor, chatting and joking way as though they had known each other forever. When hall security finally shut down the party at half two, the three of them had practically become best friends and even though everyone else was talking about how awesome the party had been, somehow they felt that they had had a much better night being outside the party, rather than actually in it.

Finally the instruction for the passengers to fasten their seat belts for landing was announced and Merlin watched the city below them get larger and larger until the plane landed on one of the many runways at Heathrow airport. As he got off the plane and waited for his suitcases to come through the conveyor belt, Merlin wondered who all had come to meet him. He expected his mother to be there obviously but he wondered who else had come.

Merlin tugged his suitcases off the conveyor belt and took one in each hand before crossing to get through the arrivals gate security and into the arrivals lounge. Merlin scanned the crowds, especially those that had signs with names on them as he walked through the arrivals trying to find some form of familiar face. Eventually he spotted Hunith standing a few feet away from the doors of the arrivals lounge and he ran to tightly embrace his mother.

"Mum!" Merlin gasped as he hugged his mother tightly, even though being at university kept him away from home; he still missed his mother more than words could say. Hunith hugged him just as tightly before she stepped back and beamed at him.

"I have a surprise for you." Hunith smiled at him.

"What is it?" Merlin asked as his vision was suddenly obscured by someone covering his eyes and two familiar voices yelled in his ears.

"Surprise!"

The hands were removed quickly and Merlin spun around and his face spilt into a wide grin at the sight of his two best friends who were beaming back at him. Merlin pulled his friends into a tight group hug and as they broke apart, Arthur patted him on the back and Gwen placed her arm around his waist in a half-hug.

"Welcome home Merlin." Arthur said as he took one of Merlin's suitcases and they made their way out of the airport.


	3. The New Girl

**AN: This one was suggested by the lovely gorgeousangel. High school AU.**

"I hate Mondays!" Arthur complained as he flung himself onto his stool next to Merlin and Gwen and slumped his head onto his arms. His two best friends ignored this comment, Arthur was not a morning person and on Mondays he was almost unbearable to be around. However there was a good reason why they loathed Mondays aside from the fact they were Mondays.

"Double maths first class! Just shoot me now and put me out of my misery." Gwen complained as she pretended to shoot herself in the head. Merlin nodded and looked around the class. It was the same as every other Monday. Everyone was sitting in their group of friends, discussing what they did at the weekend, trying to get a few precious minutes of sleep or else finishing homework. Everything was the same as every other morning at Excalibur High School.

"Do you ever wish something would happen? Something interesting I mean." Merlin asked. Gwen nodded and Arthur looked up at them.

"Like what? Nothing exciting ever happens here." Gwen said. Excalibur was a good school but there was something dull about attending a good school. Nothing really exciting ever happened. Nobody famous had attended or visited the school; there were never any really shocking scandals or major rule-breaking or disorderly behaviour. It was just an average school. Just like the hundreds of thousands of schools in England. Ordinary. Average. Dull.

"I don't just mean exciting, even just something different. Something new." Merlin commented.

Just as he said that, there was a knock at the door and a student that none of them recognised came into the room and approached their form teacher's desk and began speaking to Mr Wilson. A few moments later, the girl turned and looked at the class nervously as Mr Wilson called for silence and everyone looked up and studied the new girl. The girl was petite with pale skin, brown eyes and dark brown shoulder length hair. Judging by the nervous way she was twisting her fingers together and the way she was wearing the uniform perfectly without even having the top button of her blouse unbutton or her tie a tiny bit loose, indicated her as a new student.

"Settle down everyone. I want to introduce you to Freya Jones, our new student. I trust all of you will make Freya feel welcome." Mr Wilson said and as Freya offered the class a nervous smile, Merlin was struck by how pretty she was. There were several pretty girls at his school but they all seemed to pale in comparison to the girl standing at the front of the classroom.

Beside Merlin, Arthur glanced from Freya to Merlin before grinning knowingly at Gwen who shot Merlin a look before nodding in agreement to Arthur's knowing grin. Before anyone could say or do anything, Arthur raised his hand to gain Mr Wilson's attention and the old science teacher looked at him with his usual arched eyebrow.

"Arthur, is there something you would like to say?" Mr Wilson asked and Arthur grinned as Merlin realised what he was going to say just before he said it.

"Merlin fancies the new girl!" Arthur insisted. Everyone burst out laughing as a scarlet-faced Merlin looked away from Freya and punched Arthur on the arm as Gwen rolled her eyes at the ceiling and shook her head whilst fighting a smile. Freya ducked her head to try and hide the blush spreading over her cheeks as Gwaine gave a loud wolf whistle. Mr Wilson cleared his throat and gave Arthur a stern glance but he too looked amused at the situation.

"Thank you for that insightful information Arthur." Mr Wilson said as the bell rang and the students began reaching for their bags and getting ready to go to class. Merlin snatched his bag and hurried from the room, some of his classmates offering some jokes which he ignored. Arthur shook his head and hung back to walk with Gwen.

"Honestly, some people can't take a joke." Arthur commented.

"You did just embarrass both of them and it's Freya's first day too." Gwen replied with a shrug of her shoulders as they reached the door.

"Gwen, a word please." Mr Wilson said and Gwen turned to Arthur.

"See you in maths." Gwen said and she shut the door and turned to her form teacher and Freya who was still slightly pink-cheeked. Gwen walked up to Mr Wilson, wondering what her form teacher wanted and hoped she wouldn't get told off for what Arthur did. She may be one of his best friends but she wasn't his mother.

"Gwen, I would want you to show Freya around the school and help her settle in." Mr Wilson said and Gwen nodded.

"Yeah no problem." Gwen replied as she and Freya walked out of the room and down the corridor. "Sorry about Arthur, he was just trying to be funny."

"It's all right," Freya replied shyly as Gwen led the way from the science department to the maths department through the crowded corridors. By the time they reached the classroom, everyone else was in their seats and Gwen sat beside Merlin and Freya spoke to their teacher before taking the only free seat which was beside Sophia.

By lunchtime, Merlin still was refusing to speak to Arthur. For once he had seen a cute girl who for all he knew, could have had a chance with and Arthur put his massive foot into it. Arthur was one of his best friends but he didn't half drive Merlin made sometimes. Arthur was aware that Merlin was annoyed and after attempting to laugh it off was now attempting to apologise.

"I am sorry but if it was me, you would have done it too." Arthur commented and after a moment, Merlin shrugged his shoulders. If their roles had been reversed and it was a new girl who Arthur plainly fancied, he most likely would have done the same thing.

"Suppose so," Merlin commented as he bit into his sandwich. He still couldn't shake off the feeling that whatever chances he had had with Freya were most likely blown after that.

"Hey boys," Gwen said as she and Freya joined them and sat down. "Freya you know Merlin and Arthur."

"Hi," Freya said with a small smile, remembering how the blond boy had claimed his dark-haired friend had fancied her that morning. Even though she barely knew them, she had to admit that she hoped Arthur hadn't been lying when he had said that.

"Hi Freya, how are you finding Excalibur so far?" Arthur asked Freya.

"It's all right, Gwen's been really nice but I do miss my old school." Freya replied.

"Where were you from?" Merlin asked curiously.

"I lived just outside Exeter but we moved here after my dad got a new job." Freya explained. It had been hard leaving everything behind but her dad's new job would mean more money and a better life for their family. They couldn't turn an opportunity like that down.

"You'll settle in here soon enough, everyone's pretty decent in our class." Arthur reassured. That was one of the good things about Excalibur, almost everyone you met was a pretty decent person. There were no major rivalries between classes or groups of people like you seen in those clichéd American movies or people who tried to start fights or cause trouble for no reason.

"Yeah everyone's decent. Except for this big mouth as you know already." Merlin retorted and both Gwen and Freya laughed as Arthur shrugged his shoulders and turned to Freya.

"Sorry about this morning, I was only messing around." Arthur apologised sincerely. It had only been a joke. Some banter between friends, nothing serious or malicious.

"It's OK," Freya replied shyly.

As they continued eating their lunch and chatting, it soon became obvious to Arthur and Gwen that there was a clear attraction between Merlin and Freya. Indeed as they left the canteen and took Freya on a tour around the school, it was more Merlin who was informing Freya of the various departments, where the matron's room was and which of her teachers were either strict or decent. As they reached the library, Merlin showed Freya the computers and Gwen and Arthur hung back.

"I feel like a third wheel." Arthur commented.

"So do I," Gwen replied. "It's sweet though, seeing Merlin with a little crush."

"Our little Merlin's all grown up." Arthur joked as he wiped away a mock tear. "Tenner says they'll get together."

"It's not a case of 'if' they get together but 'when'." Gwen said as she and Arthur walked over to Merlin and Freya who were sitting at one of the tables talking away as though they had known each other for years.

As they walked over to Merlin and Freya, Gwen made a show of pulling out her phone and checking the time. "Oh no, I forgot. Freya I'm sorry but I've a singing lesson now. I have to go."

"Oh, all right." Freya replied as Merlin gave Gwen a confused look. Gwen did have singing lessons in school but on Wednesdays, not Mondays.

"Yeah and I need to speak to my Art teacher about some coursework." Arthur added. "I'm sure Merlin will walk with you to English."

Before Merlin or Freya could say anything, Gwen and Arthur walked out of the library. As soon as they were at the doorway, the two looked back to see Merlin and Freya engrossed in conversation once more. As they walked away from the library and towards the Arts department were the music, drama and Art classrooms were, Arthur looked at Gwen knowingly.

"Ten quid says they're together by Friday." Arthur claimed.

"Deal," Gwen replied as they shook hands. "I think she'll be good for him." Gwen said, Freya was a really nice girl and once she was comfortable with them, she wasn't as shy as she had been that morning when she arrived in their classroom. As his best friends, both Arthur and Gwen knew that Merlin deserved a girl who was sweet and friendly like Freya and that he would be someone who would be loving and kind to any girl he was in a relationship with. As long as Merlin was happy, then they would be happy for him.

"Yeah. Merlin and Freya sitting in a tree." Arthur chanted and Gwen playfully elbowed him as they wandered around the school, waiting for the bell to ring and continued talking about Merlin and Freya. All they wanted was for Merlin to be happy and if Freya made him happy, then nothing else mattered.

Next Monday morning, Merlin and Freya joined Arthur and Gwen at their usual desk in the science lab and it took Arthur and Gwen all of two seconds to realise that Merlin and Freya were holding hands. As he recalled their bet, Arthur turned to Merlin and Freya.

"When did this happen?" Arthur asked in a low voice, having learnt his lesson from last Monday.

"Saturday, we spent the day in town and at the end of the evening when he walked me home, Merlin asked me to be his girlfriend." Freya admitted shyly, carefully omitting the part about them being caught by her dad kissing on the front step and her dad chasing Merlin down the street. Merlin caught her eye and smiled at her, if Arthur knew how their Saturday night ended, he'd never let Merlin forget it.

"That's great, I'm so happy for you both." Gwen grinned at them before turning to Arthur and clicking her fingers. "Pay up!"

"You made a bet?" Merlin asked, the grin falling off his face.

"No, Arthur made a bet and he lost." Gwen replied as she slipped the ten pound note into her blazer pocket as Mr Wilson began taking the register and Merlin and Freya simply smiled at each other.

"I like your friends." Freya commented and Merlin smiled at Gwen and Arthur, the latter of whom was frowning as Gwen tauntingly wafted the ten pound note in his face.

"Yeah, they're the best." Merlin replied.


	4. Silence

**AN: Canon AU- Morgana makes Gwen mute.**

"Hello Gwen,"

Gwen turned to see Morgana standing a few feet away from her. Morgana walked towards Gwen who got up, dropping the basket of herbs that she had been collecting for Gaius onto the forest floor. Gwen and Morgana stared each other, Morgana watched Gwen's eyes dart around the area, they weren't too far from the castle and the area where they were wasn't too far from a regular guard patrol.

"You're taking a risk coming here." Gwen said and Morgana looked at her.

"You're not going to tell anyone." Morgana threatened and Gwen looked at her. Why would Morgana think that she wouldn't tell anyone that she had seen Morgana so close to Camelot? Almost as though Morgana had read her mind, Morgana raised her right hand at Gwen who turned and tried to run.

"_Amoveret eam vocem!"_ Morgana shouted. Gwen fell to the ground and her hands flew to her throat which felt as though it was closing in on itself. Gwen clutched at her throat which felt like it was forcing something out of it before the tightening stopped. Gwen rubbed her painful throat and looked up at Morgana who smirked at her as Gwen attempted to speak and no sound came out.

"Sorry, I didn't hear that." Morgana taunted as Gwen attempted to speak again but there was nothing but silence. Gwen looked up at Morgana who smirked and vanished. Gwen got warily to her feet but only managed to move a few feet before she fell to the ground. Gwen picked herself up and collected her basket. She needed to get back to Camelot and see Gaius. If anyone could help her, it would be him. She also needed to see Merlin and Arthur; they needed to know Morgana was nearby.

"Have you seen Gwen anywhere? She should have been back ages ago." Merlin asked Arthur as he walked into Arthur's chambers.

"I haven't seen her all day." Arthur replied as he frowned at Merlin. "Do you think something's wrong?"

"I don't think so but we can't be too careful." Merlin replied and Arthur nodded. With Morgana out there, being fool-hearted with their own safety was not a clever move to make. Merlin and Arthur hurried through the castle and went to the stables to fetch their horses before taking off into the woods. As they reached the woods, Gwen walked towards them and Merlin and Arthur dismounted and approached her.

"Gwen, are you all right?" Merlin asked. Gwen attempted to speak but like before, no sound came out. Merlin and Arthur frowned at her.

"What was that?" Arthur asked and Gwen put her hand to her throat and shook her head.

"Can you speak?" Merlin asked and again Gwen shook her head. "We'll need to get you to Gaius, he might know something."

Arthur helped Gwen onto the back of his horse and Merlin balanced the basket of herbs on his lap as they sped back to the castle and hurried to Gaius' quarters where the physician was brewing up remedies and looked up as the three friends burst into the room.

"Gwen can't speak, Morgana's taken her voice." Arthur explained as Gwen nodded beside him. Merlin set the herbs onto the table and began selecting random books from Gaius' shelves. Gwen sat down at the table and Gaius performed different exams on her throat. There seemed to be no obvious signs of damage except for the fact that Gwen couldn't speak. Arthur handed Gwen some parchment and a quill and sat down beside her and Gwen was now grateful for the hours she had spent sitting in on Morgana's lessons; learning how to read and write with her.

"How do you feel?" Gaius asked. "Any dizziness or pain around your throat."

Gwen shook her head and Gaius returned his attention to his books. Arthur put a supportive arm around Gwen's shoulders. "We'll find something." Arthur reassured.

_What if you don't? What if I'm stuck like this forever?_ Gwen wrote on the parchment and showed it to Arthur.

"Hopefully that won't happen but if it is the case then we can help you adapt and communicate." Merlin said as he walked back to the table with more books and they all began flicking through them, trying to find something that would help them. After almost an hour of searching through book after book, Gaius managed to find what they were looking for.

"The Spell of Silence. It's an enchantment which removes a person's voice and their capability to speak. It was used as a means to ensure state secrets were kept until they were recorded on paper or by the High Priestesses to ensure their secrets were kept. A person would be granted with specific knowledge and have their voice removed to keep it secret." Gaius explained to Gwen, Merlin and Arthur; Gwen picked up the quill and wrote on the parchment again.

_Is there a cure?_

"I'm afraid that there doesn't seem to be any cure." Gaius replied and they looked at him. "The spell Morgana used is a very old and powerful spell, whatever cure it has must have been lost. I'm sorry Gwen."

Gwen hung her head and Merlin and Arthur offered her a supportive arm however she shook them off and hurried from the room. Gwen ran through the castle until she came to her favourite window and stood staring out of it. She had suspected that there mightn't be a cure when Morgana had stolen her voice but the confirmation that she would never speak again shattered any hope she had had left. Gwen wiped her eyes and looked out over the courtyard without really seeing anything. She was never going to be able to speak again. What use would she be to them now if something happened? If they were fighting or someone had been hurt, how would she be able to communicate with them? She would never be able to speak to Elyan or the other knights or Merlin and Arthur. If she ever had a child, she would never be able to have a conversation with them. She was absolutely, forever mute.

"Gwen,"

Gwen wiped her eyes and turned to see Merlin and Arthur walk towards her and in seconds, both of them had her wrapped in a tight hug. This wasn't going to be easy, but Merlin and Arthur were determined to help their friend in her new world of silence. They all knew that but the fact that Merlin and Arthur hadn't abandoned her gave Gwen more comfort than she expected.

"We'll need to inform the others about what's happened." Arthur said after a while and Gwen nodded. The knights, especially Elyan, needed to know about Gwen's muteness and Merlin smiled at Gwen reassuringly.

"It's not going to be easy but we can get through this." Merlin reassured, it wouldn't be easy but there had to be a way they could help Gwen communicate with everyone until some form of cure was found. Merlin was already planning to speak to Kilgharragh about a possible way to reverse the spell. Gwen smiled at Merlin and Arthur and squeezed their hands tightly.

A week had passed since Gwen had become mute and there was still no sign of her regaining her voice. Merlin had been unable to get any information from Kilgharragh and their repeated research in books ended up fruitless. Gwen attempted to remain strong and maintain the illusion that a lack of speech wasn't affecting her but Merlin and Arthur were aware that she was truly devastated at being unable to speak. Gwen was now reliant on a crude form of sign language to communicate with people but had refused to give up her work, determined to retain her independence.

However it wasn't easy, she was unable to vent her frustrations at being unable to speak and she couldn't stop herself from wondering if she was little more than a liability to them now. The knights were also supportive of her and had treated her in the same as they had done before the spell had been cast but it was really Arthur and Merlin who had gone beyond what she had expected to help her. Every time she slipped them a note claiming she was a liability or even seemed to be getting a bit emotional, Arthur and Merlin were at her side offering reassurance and support as well as being able to put a smile on her face again.

"I've had an idea." Merlin said one evening as he, Gwen and Arthur sat in Gwen's house, having given Gwen a new, blank book for her to use to speak to people.

"What is it?" Arthur asked and Merlin grinned.

"I think there should be different symbols Gwen could use if she doesn't have her book or needs to speak to someone in a hurry. That way we would know who needed help or who she needed to speak to." Merlin suggested and Gwen smiled as she wrote in her new book.

_That would be useful. Different people could be referred to by their jobs but you all would need something special for you._

"That's what I was thinking, I mean it would be easy for you to say the guards or the cooks but for all of us, there should be something unique for us." Merlin explained and Gwen nodded.

"That's a good idea," Arthur commented. "We'll start with Gaius."

Gwen thought for a moment before she pretended to wrap a bandage around her wrist and Merlin nodded. "That would work so Gaius' sign is healing a wound."

"We need to consider individual signs for the knights. What about Leon?" Arthur asked and Gwen and Merlin did some thinking before Merlin grinned.

"I've got it." Merlin replied and he pretended to draw a sword and Gwen and Arthur nodded.

"Ok so Leon's sign is drawing a sword. What about Percival?" Arthur asked and Gwen smiled, that one was easy. Arthur and Merlin laughed as Gwen mimed flexing muscles, it would be hard to mistake that for anyone else. "Ok so Percival's is muscles. What about Lancelot?"

The three of them thought about that and Merlin had the idea for Lancelot's sign. "This could do," Merlin said as he pretended to slash a sword in front of them. "Leon's is drawing a sword but Lancelot's sign could be him actually using it."

"Ok so we have Gaius, Leon, Percival and Lancelot. That just leaves Elyan, Gwaine and myself and Merlin. What could Elyan's sign be?" Arthur asked and Gwen immediately began pretending to hammer at something.

"Working in a forge? That's good and Gwaine's could be you pretending to drink." Merlin suggested and Gwen nodded. The signs were clever but also basic enough for the others to understand. Now it was only a matter of finding appropriate signs for Merlin and Arthur. Just as she thought that, Merlin grinned at her.

"I know what we can use for you," Merlin said to Arthur and he placed his hands above his ears as a reminder of Arthur's donkey ears. Gwen covered her mouth as Arthur slapped Merlin in the back of the head causing Gwen to click her fingers before she pointed as Merlin and raised her hands to shoulder height and lowered her head to the same height so that it looked as though she were in an invisible set of stocks. That had been how she and Merlin had met all those years ago after all.

"The stocks? That's my sign?" Merlin asked and Gwen nodded. "Ok so what about Arthur?"

Gwen thought before she raised her hands and placed them over her heart and Arthur smiled at the sign and Merlin cast his eyes. "So I get the stocks and he gets your heart. Thanks Gwen, nice to know who your best friend is." Merlin joked as Gwen looked at him with her eyebrows raised before they grinned at each other and Gwen picked up her quill and began writing in her book again.

_You know that you're both my best friends. It's just that I didn't think that pretending to boss you around or hit you was a clever way of letting you know if Arthur was in trouble._ Gwen wrote and Merlin grinned.

"I suppose, anyway we should be going but we'll see you tomorrow." Merlin said as he stood up and gave Gwen a hug and Arthur did the same. Gwen hugged them back just as tightly, trying to convey her gratitude for what Merlin and Arthur had done for her ever since she lost her voice.

As Merlin and Arthur left, Gwen clutched her new book to her chest and smiled. Losing her voice had been hard but she knew that as long as she had Arthur and Merlin's continued help and support then she knew that somehow she would be all right.


	5. Drunk

**AN: Post series 3**

If Lancelot was being completely honest, he would wish that he was not knocking on Gwen's door at this moment in time. Of course, any other time he'd jump at the chance to spend time with her however tonight the circumstances were a bit different. Lancelot stood awkwardly on the doorstep as Gwen opened the door a crack before seeing who it was and opened the door wider. She clearly had been woken up, she was in her nightdress and her hair was hanging down freely.

"Lancelot? It's the middle of the night?" Gwen commented as she became more alert and looked at him troubled. "What's happened?"

"It's Merlin and Arthur," Lancelot replied and Gwen's eyes widened.

"Are they hurt? What's wrong?" Gwen asked, looking worried for Arthur and Merlin's welfare, different scenarios running through her mind, visions of them being held hostage, being tortured or lying dead plaguing her mind.

"Nothing's wrong but they're a bit drunk." Lancelot replied and Gwen's shoulder's relaxed before she frowned at him.

"I don't mean to be rude Lancelot but why did you wake me just to inform me that Merlin and Arthur have had too much to drink?" Gwen asked; it was the middle of the night, she had to work tomorrow and Uther had been especially challenging today, not to mention Arthur's uncle dropping a few comments about the 'appropriateness' of her and Arthur's relationship. That and Gwen could get extremely cranky when she was tired.

"We need you to come and deal with them. They won't listen to us but they'll listen to you." Lancelot commented and Gwen sighed wearily. There went any chance of her going back to sleep tonight then.

"One moment." Gwen said and she shut the door before reopening it a few minutes later draped in her cloak and having put on a pair of shoes. Lancelot led her through the darkened streets to the Rising Sun and escorted her inside.

When Lancelot had said that Merlin and Arthur were drunk, Gwen had expected to see them slumped in a corner somewhere. Instead Merlin was standing on a table and seemed to be trying to do an impression of Arthur and Arthur wasn't getting mad. Instead he was just sitting and giggling at Merlin's antics. It was in that moment that she remembered that Merlin and Arthur weren't fighting drunks or singing drunks.

They were childish drunks.

"This is going to be annoying." Gwen murmured as she walked past the knights and over to Merlin and Arthur's table. Gwen folded her arms across her chest and cleared her throat. Merlin turned and grinned at her and Arthur raised his head to offer her a goofy yet adorable smile.

"Hi Gwen! Joining the party?" Merlin asked and Gwen shook her head.

"No and you two need to go home to bed." Gwen replied and Merlin shook his head.

"Not tired." Merlin insisted as he downed the contents of his goblet for good measure. Arthur was still just content to sit and grin and Gwen turned to the knights, whom she noticed were remarkably sober looking in comparison.

"What happened?" Gwen asked and the knights looked at each other uneasily before Elyan nervously scratched the back of his head. Gwen was sweet when she was awake but when she was tired, she was cranky as hell and none of them wanted to deal with a cranky Gwen anymore than they had wanted to deal with a drunk Merlin and Arthur.

"Merlin joked he could drink Arthur under the table, Arthur challenged him then this happened." Elyan explained in a rush.

"And you didn't think to stop them?" Gwen asked.

"Arthur pulled rank and said if we didn't let him beat Merlin we'd be locked up in the dungeons." Leon explained and Gwen looked at the knights wearily and shook her head before turning her attention back to Merlin and Arthur. Merlin was now sitting on the table and giggling as he played with his scarf. Arthur was finishing off his drink and Gwen stood in front of them.

"Come on you two, it's time for you to go." Gwen said as she took Arthur's goblet and set it on another table before she reached for Merlin's who held it out of her grasp. Gwen took the goblet from him and took Merlin's hand and pulled him off the table. Gwen then reached for Arthur's wrist and tugged him to his feet.

"We're fine, don't need to go back." Arthur insisted. Gwen let go of his wrist and Arthur swayed on his feet before falling to the floor. Merlin laughed at the sight of Arthur sitting on the floor but Gwen simply gave him a stern look and he stopped. This however prompted Arthur to grin at merlin.

"You're in trouble!" Arthur claimed in a sing-song voice and Gwen gave him the same look before she turned to the knights.

"Percival could you and Leon take Merlin back to the castle? Tell Gaius he shouldn't even bother preparing any sort of hangover remedies for either of them. This was their own doing and they can bear the consequences of it." Gwen said as she let go of Merlin, and knowing better than to argue, Percival and Leon walked over to Merlin and each of them slung one of Merlin's arms over their shoulder and supported the drunken servant out of the tavern. Gwen then turned her attention to Arthur and again tugged him to his feet.

"Elyan can you, Gwaine and Lancelot take Arthur back to the castle and make sure he gets to bed all right? And if he's in a bad mood tomorrow due to his hangover, tell him that I said it's his own fault for being so stubborn and competitive." Gwen said and the three knights obediently took control of their prince and helped him out of the tavern. Gwen walked with them as far as her house before she stood in the doorway and shook her head fondly at the sight of the knights having to support Arthur and Merlin from the tavern to the castle.

"Boys will be boys," Gwen muttered to herself as she walked back into her house and tried to get some sleep before the night was over.


	6. Morgana

**AN: Set early-series 3**

"Have either of you noticed anything strange about Morgana recently?" Gwen asked as she, Merlin and Arthur sat on the palace steps talking.

"She has been quieter, more withdrawn but I suppose after all that's happened, we can't expect her to be the same Morgana before she was kidnapped." Arthur replied after a moment of silence. Gwen did have a point; there was something different about Morgana. Something… not quite right.

Merlin nodded, wondering just what Arthur and Gwen suspected was wrong with Morgana as well as tilting his head back in the direction of Morgana's window. Merlin turned his head and stared at Morgana's window where Morgana was watching the three of them intently. Morgana was only there for a moment before she moved away again and Merlin turned back to Arthur and Gwen.

"Has she spoken to you, about anything that happened?" Merlin asked Gwen who shook her head and fiddled with the hem of her apron.

"No, I wish she would. I wish she wouldn't cut herself off from us like this. I know that the three of us have become closer friends over the past year or so but we're her friends and she's practically our sister, surely she knows that she can trust us enough to tell us anything." Gwen said.

Merlin nodded, agreeing with Gwen's words. Obviously the reason Morgana was cutting herself off from them was to cover her tracks for whenever she and Morgause put their latest plans into action but she could at least pretend to still be their friends before she inevitably stabbed them all in the back.

"Maybe that's why she hasn't." Arthur spoke up and Gwen and Merlin looked at him, Gwen seemed confused and Merlin interested. What did Arthur mean by that? "Morgana spent a year being held hostage, not knowing whether or not she would live or die or ever return to Camelot again. She obviously still feels scared that it might happen again." Arthur reasoned.

"I suppose that makes sense but it's more than that. She really isn't herself these days. Sometimes it feels like… like she's a whole other person." Gwen said, looking across the courtyard without seeing anything. There was just something not right with how Morgana acted these days, she was short-tempered, secretive and if Gwen didn't know better, she would say that Morgana practically hated all of them.

"I think the main thing we should do is show her that we understand she's going through and that we want to help her." Arthur said eventually. Whatever was wrong with Morgana, surely it was nothing that they couldn't help her with. Even though she had endured that year of torment, she was still their friend. They cared for her and wanted her to know that no matter what, they would always support her.

"I guess," Merlin replied slowly. It would be good to ensure that Morgana was kept well aware of the fact that whilst she had everyone else in Camelot fooled, Merlin saw through her act. The day would come when she would reveal her true nature but when she did, they would be ready. As far as Merlin could see, there was something dangerous and important on the horizon that would permanently divide the four of them; himself, Arthur and Gwen against Morgana.

All he could do was hope that the cause for the divide wouldn't occur too soon.


	7. Proposal

**AN: Modern AU**

Arthur walked into the kitchen and looked at Merlin who was slicing an apple into quarters and tossed one to Arthur who took a bite out of it. "Merlin, I've been thinking,"

"Careful," Merlin commented and Arthur flipped him the bird and took another bite of his apple slice.

"I've been thinking a lot about it and I'm going to propose." Arthur said and Merlin grinned as he jokingly put a hand over his heart.

"Oh Arthur, this is so sudden!" Merlin joked and Arthur rolled his eyes and Merlin propped himself onto the kitchen counter and bit into his apple. "So when are you going to do it?"

"I don't know. Soon obviously but what if she doesn't say yes?" Arthur asked and Merlin looked at him as though wondering whether Arthur was being serious.

"You know she'll say 'yes'. Gwen loves you." Merlin reassured. "Which has always worried me. I mean the fact you look like that, eat like a pig, don't know how to wash dishes and generally act like a prat. I don't know how I managed to be friends with you for all this time, much less how Gwen still managed to fall for you."

"Very funny Merlin." Arthur commented, flicking a piece of apple at Merlin.

Merlin and Arthur had been best friends for years and some of their girlfriends couldn't understand that they were as close as brothers but from the very start Gwen was different. Indeed when Arthur first took her back to the flat he shared with Merlin, Merlin and Gwen had bonded straight away and acted as though they had been best friends for years. Gwen wasn't just a best friend to both of them but she was a girlfriend to Arthur and was like the sister Merlin had never had. Somehow the balance between their friendships and Arthur and Gwen's actual relationship was never an issue. It was like they were meant to be best friends with Merlin whilst simultaneously in love with each other.

"Seriously, how are you going to do it?" Merlin asked and Arthur shrugged his shoulders.

"I have no idea. I want it to be special and we're going out for a meal tonight but the idea of a public proposal is kind of scary." Arthur said as he reached into his pocket and tossed the ring box to Merlin who opened it to reveal a diamond set in a white-gold ring. Merlin let out a low whistle, estimating that the ring was quite pricy and handed the box back to Arthur.

"I think you should do it when the time's right." Merlin suggested.

"But how will I know when the time's right?" Arthur asked.

"You just will," Merlin reasoned.

"Never thought I'd say it but you're right Merlin." Arthur commented and he looked at Merlin. "You know, if Guinevere does say yes; I'm going to need a Best Man."

"You want me to be your best man?" Merlin asked and Arthur shrugged his shoulders.

"Well if you don't want to, I could ask Gwaine or Leon," Arthur reasoned and Merlin shook his head.

"I'd be honoured, besides doesn't that mean I get to organise the Stag Do?" Merlin asked and Arthur looked worried before grinning.

"Maybe, I need to propose first don't I?" Arthur commented and left the kitchen to get ready. An hour or so later, Merlin was sitting on the sofa watching the TV when Arthur came in wearing his best shirt and trousers and looking absolutely terrified. Merlin laughed at the sight of Arthur looking so nervous.

"Mate, you're proposing, not going to war." Merlin commented and Arthur nodded and took a deep breath.

"I know. Ok, I can do this." Arthur said as he grabbed his keys.

"Good luck." Merlin called.

A few hours later, Merlin's phone buzzed with an incoming text message. Merlin opened the message to see a picture of beaming Gwen showing off the ring on her finger. Underneath Arthur had put three words in large capital letters.

"_SHE SAID YES!"_


	8. Wedding

**AN: This is the follow up to the previous chapter. It's Arthur and Gwen's wedding day with Merlin as the best man.**

"How are you feeling?" Merlin asked Arthur as they pulled on their suits. The men were all grouped in Uther's house to get suited and booted for the wedding. Arthur had a grin on his face but his hands were shaking as he attempted to do his tie.

"Excited, nervous, just… I don't know." Arthur said with a nervous laugh. "I'm getting married Merlin."

"Yeah I know, I am the Best Man." Merlin replied and grinned. "Have you spoken to Gwen?"

"Obviously not, it's bad luck. I still can't believe this. I'm actually getting married." Arthur said and a wide grin broke over his face as he repeated those final four words.

"To someone who's not blind, deaf, stupid or insane either." Merlin quipped and Arthur tossed a cushion at him as his groomsmen, Elyan, Leon, Gwaine, Percy and Lance entered the room with Uther. All of them were in their suits and Gwaine clapped a hand on his shoulder.

"Nervous yet?" Gwaine laughed, the last time they'd all seen Arthur was this pale and twitchy; he had spent the whole night heaving into the toilet.

"A bit but in a good way," Arthur replied grinning at Elyan who smiled back. "I'm getting married lads!"

"We noticed. Excuse me." Merlin commented as his phone rang. Merlin walked up the stairs and locked himself in the bathroom as so not to be disturbed as he answered the phone. Merlin smiled as he heard the sound of laughter and women talking in the background.

"Nervous yet?" Merlin asked.

"How can you tell?" Gwen replied. "Is it all right for us to talk?"

"Yeah, I locked myself in the bathroom. It sounds mental over there." Merlin said, wincing as over the phone he heard Morgana shouting at either Freya or Elena to stop hogging the mirror.

"It is. How's Arthur?" Gwen asked.

"Nervous but excited. Don't worry he'll be at the church in time. What about you? Ready to become Mrs Pendragon?" Merlin asked Gwen who nodded before realising he couldn't see her and answered.

"I think so. My hair and make-up's done and I just need to put on my dress. I've also got those four things you're supposed to have so I'm almost ready. I'm not sure about the others though." Gwen replied as she covered the phone and turned to her bridesmaids who were in the process of getting ready.

Merlin laughed. "Good luck, we'll see you at the church."

"Ok," Gwen replied.

"Oh and Gwen?" Merlin said.

"Yes?" Gwen asked.

"I'm really glad you and Arthur are getting married. You're perfect for each other." Merlin said sincerely and Gwen smiled.

"Thank you Merlin." Gwen said and she hung up. Morgana walked over to her, already in her dress and carrying the package which contained Gwen's wedding dress.

"How are you feeling?" Morgana asked her imminent sister-in-law.

"Excited." Gwen replied as her other bridesmaids; Mithian, Freya, Elena and Sefa came over to help Gwen into her dress without wrecking her hair or staining the dress. Once she was in her dress and everyone was in their purple bridesmaids dresses and they had their flowers. Gwen turned to Tom who had a tear in his eyes at the sight of his daughter in her wedding dress. Gwen hugged Tom tightly and all too soon, they could hear the beeping of the wedding car outside. As Gwen walked into the hallway, she stopped and looked at her reflection, took a deep breath and followed the rest of them outside to get into the car. Her heart was pounding but there was a beaming smile on her face as the car turned and drove down the street.

Merlin came out of the bathroom to see the other men and Arthur getting ready to leave; the hired wedding cars having just arrived to collect them. Merlin clapped Arthur on the back as they left Uther's house and climbed into the car to take them to the church.

The butterflies in Arthur's stomach turned into frogs jumping around him as the church came into sight. Some of the guests had already arrived and the photographer was also there. The sun was shining and Arthur was taking that as a good omen. The men climbed out of their car and posed for photographs outside the church door before they entered the church. As Arthur led the way up the aisle, his heart was bounding in his chest and he took some deep breaths to calm himself down.

Merlin stood outside the church door, allowing the other guests to arrive and enter the church before eventually he could see the black wedding car approaching. Merlin turned and headed back inside and walked up the aisle to stand beside Arthur.

"She's coming." Merlin muttered and clapped Arthur on the shoulder. "Good luck."

"Thanks Merlin." Arthur said as he stared at the altar, resisting all temptation to turn around as the Wedding March began playing. Merlin however had no such qualms and was watching Gwen walk up the aisle with a grin on his face.

Gwen's smile widened at the sight of Arthur standing at the altar and she had to suppress a giggle at Merlin's grin, he was practically bouncing on the balls of his feet. As Gwen and Tom reached the altar, Tom shook Arthur' hand, kissed Gwen's cheek and stepped back, wiping a tear from his eye. Arthur took Gwen's hand and seemed to have lost the capability to blink. Gwen's dress was a long strapless white gown which clung to her curves and flared out in the skirt. Her hair was carefully styled with a veil and she was beaming back at him before they turned to the vicar who was to perform the ceremony.

Merlin stood proudly, watching his friends' wedding ceremony and all too soon, the focus was on him as the vicar asked for the rings. As Arthur and Gwen looked at him, Merlin beamed and stuck his hand into his pocket. The grin fell off his face as he rooted through each pocket.

"They should be here somewhere." Merlin commented and Arthur frowned at him whilst Gwen grinned and the guests laughed; knowing Merlin was just pretending.

"Mer-lin!" Arthur said in a warning tone as Merlin winked at them and produced the rings which he had hidden in his hands. All too soon, Arthur and Gwen were pronounced husband and wife and as they kissed, Merlin let out a loud wolf-whistle which prompted more laughter.

After having the photographs taken in the gardens of the hotel that the reception was in and having the reception meal; it was time for the most important part of Merlin's duties as Best Man. The speech. Merlin stood up and clinked on his glass for silence before he cleared his throat.

"Ok, for those of you who don't know who I am, my name's Merlin and I've been Arthur's best friend since we started uni and Gwen's best friend for the past three years. I have to admit, I am honoured to be standing here at my best friends' wedding as their best man. I don't really know what exactly I should say so I'm just winging it and hoping for the best." Merlin said, some people laughed politely and Merlin continued.

"I suppose I should start by how I met Arthur. Well, we were both at the same uni and it was during Fresher's Week that we met each other at a flat party. I called him a prat, he called me an idiot and we've been best friends ever since. How I met Gwen however is a more interesting story. Arthur came home one day and he was in a good mood. I mean a really good mood. If I remember correctly he even sang at one point. Anyway I ask him what made him so happy and Arthur had this goofy look on his face and simply said '_I'm in love'._" There were a few 'aww's at that comment and Arthur blushed slightly before Merlin continued.

"Anyway one evening I'm alone in the flat and decided to do what any normal twenty-something does when they're home alone. So I'm in my boxers, standing on the sofa and singing 80's power ballads at the top of my lungs with an air guitar when the door opens and Arthur comes in with a pretty girl on his arm." There was some more laughter, especially from the other groomsmen at the mental image of Merlin being caught in such a way. Merlin too, laughed at the memory.

"Yeah, cue the awkwardness. Anyway just then, mime and Arthur's all-time favourite 80's power ballad, 'You're the Voice' comes on and the exact words out of Gwen's mouth were; '_Oh my god, I love this song!'_ and that's when I knew that she was The One." Merlin recalled, the grin on Arthur's face when Gwen had said that and began singing along to the lyrics and going all-out on the chorus with Merlin had told Merlin that that had been the moment when Arthur knew for certain that he was in love with Gwen.

"But I digress, the reason we're all here today if because two people who we all care about managed to fall in love and marry each other. I honestly cannot think of two people who deserve to be happy than Arthur and Gwen. They're both amazing people and I am so happy to be able to call them my best friends. I wish Arthur and Gwen all the best for the future and I know that they'll be very happy together. So I'd like you all to raise your glasses for a toast." Merlin said as he raised his own glass. "To Arthur and Gwen,"

"Arthur and Gwen," everyone replied and Merlin grinned.

"Well that's about all I can say really except for one thing," Merlin said and paused dramatically, knowing everyone was waiting to hear what he had to say. "I call being Godfather!"

Everyone laughed and applauded Merlin who sat back down again. Arthur clapped him on the shoulder and Gwen stood up to give him a tight hug. Merlin beamed at his two best friends, feeling the blush on his cheeks from having given his speech. When the band and DJ was set up, Arthur and Gwen took to the dance floor for their first wedding dance. Most people were recording the dance but Merlin simply stood and absorbed the moment. He was feeling a mixture of emotions, watching the newlyweds dance.

He was relieved that the day had gone perfectly.

He was overjoyed that they had managed to get married.

Most importantly of all, he was proud to call himself their best man and their best friend.


	9. Headache

**AN: Set after 4x06**

"My head is killing me." Merlin commented as he gingerly touched the three large bumps on the back of his head, curtsey of Gwen.

"Good," Arthur replied unsympathetically. "It's what you get for trying to kill me."

"It wasn't my fault. Morgana enchanted me. Besides, if I really was trying to kill you, you'd know about it." Merlin retorted and Arthur shoved his shoulder. The brief smile that had flickered over Merlin's face fell as he thought about what he had done. he'd almost killed Arthur. He'd poisoned his food, rigged a crossbow into his wardrobe, turned his bath water to acid and charged at him with a sword. As Merlin thought about all he had done whilst under Morgana's control, one random thought came to mind.

Thank goodness for Gwen and her talent for beating people over the head.

"Merlin?" Arthur asked, Merlin's silence had admittedly been unnerving him.

"I'm so sorry Arthur. I honestly didn't meant to do it." Merlin apologised; he had almost killed his best friend. Arthur looked at Merlin and placed a hand reassuringly onto his shoulder.

"It's forgiven. You were under a spell after all." Arthur said and smiled at Merlin. "Besides, all those bashings with a jug might have knocked some sense into you."

"Ha ha," Merlin commented sarcastically, wincing as he gingerly felt the bumps on the back of his head. Two of them had merged into one big bump and his neck was still aching too. "Who knew Gwen had such a good backhand?"

"A woman of many talents." Arthur stated. "Could you imagine Guinevere taking on an army single-handedly and armed with a saucepan, a jug and a bad temper?"

Merlin laughed and rubbed his head. "Yeah, she'd win."

"I don't think I would actually." Gwen said as she entered the room and handed Merlin a compress which he took and gratefully pressed onto his head. "How are you?"

"Alive," Arthur replied.

"Not too bad, aside from the headache," Merlin replied and Gwen bit her lip.

"Sorry, but I had to stop you somehow." Gwen replied and Merlin waved a hand dismissively.

"It's fine. Arthur's alive, Morgana's plan failed and that's what matters." Merlin dismissed as he accidently pressed to hard and hissed into his teeth. "Although next time, use something less heavy. It feels like Percival punched me."

"Merlin's right, all that matters is that Morgana's plans were foiled yet again." Arthur replied. Morgana must be getting really desperate if she was resorting to using Merlin of all people as a possible assassin to kill Arthur. It led to the rather worrying thought of just how far Morgana was going to go to seize power.

"Yeah, you saved both our lives and the kingdom too if you think about it." Merlin said and Gwen modestly shrugged her shoulders.

"It was nothing. We're friends after all and friends look out for each other." Gwen said and smiled at Merlin and Arthur. "Even if that does mean denting the occasional jug."

The three friends looked at each other and did the only thing they could do after that remark which Gwen had said with a straight face and serious tone of voice. They laughed.


	10. The Reichenbach Fall

**AN: Modern AU. This is just a short one but I hope you like it. If you haven't watched 'Sherlock' then let me say, you are missing out! It is amazing and I have added 'Sherlockian' to my list of fandoms. This one is based on the infamous final scenes of 'The Reichenbach Fall'.**

There was nothing but silence as Merlin, Arthur and Gwen stared at the television, absolutely transfixed by the episode of Sherlock they were watching. It was the ultimate showdown between Sherlock and Moriarty and the three friends were silently waiting to see what would happen. It was obvious that it would be something big and dramatic and would have one hell of a twist or cliff-hanger just waiting to appear. The only sound in the room was the Irish accent of Moriarty.

"_As long as I'm alive, you can save your friends, you've got a way out. Well, good luck with that."_

"Oh my god!" Merlin shouted as a gunshot echoed from the television speakers and they stared at the screen horrified by the sudden twist. Arthur's eyes were wide open and Gwen had her hands over her mouth. Out of all the possibilities that they had considered, none of them had seen that coming. Despite their shock, still none of them dared speak as they stared at the screen and listened to Sherlock's emotional phone call to John.

"He's not…" Arthur whispered as they realised what Sherlock was going to and had to do.

"He is," Gwen replied, tears in her eyes. On the screen, as if to support her claim, they watched as Sherlock said those two fateful words.

"_Goodbye John."_

"NO!" All three of them shouted in horror. Merlin's hands were over his mouth, Arthur was clutching his hair and Gwen had allowed herself to start crying. It was strange just how much the TV show had affected them, given it was only the sixth episode of the show but nonetheless the three friends were horrified by what had happened. Gwen was crying, there was a tear on Merlin's cheek and Arthur's eyes were watering as they stared at the television. Their sadness gave way to shock and their jaws fell open at the very final shot of the episode which revealed that Sherlock was alive despite what they had just seen.

"How the hell did he do that?" Arthur asked, still in shock at what had happened.

"I suppose Molly would have helped but still how the hell did he survive?" Merlin wondered aloud and shook his head. "That's crazy."

"I can see why he did it but John, Mrs Hudson, everyone they all think he's dead and… oh my god." Gwen muttered as she wiped her eyes again.

Merlin shrugged his shoulders and looked at the screen as though expecting some sort of extra scene at the end explaining how Sherlock survived. Then again, he reasoned, as well as being Sherlock fans, they were also avid watchers of Doctor Who and knew full well just how confusing or complex Steven Moffat's storylines were. Even so, they couldn't help but wonder just how Sherlock managed to do it without getting caught and without Moriarty or even Mycroft suspecting him.

"I know." Arthur replied and shrugged. "I guess we'll find out someday."

"Yeah, but when?" Gwen asked.

**AN: Hopefully for the Sherlockians it won't be long as they are filming series 3 of Sherlock! **


	11. Reveal

**AN: Reveal Fic-Post series 2**

"I-I have magic." Merlin confessed as he looked directly at Arthur. There was a moment of silence and then Arthur laughed.

"Good one Merlin." Arthur said but the look on Merlin's face told him that this wasn't a joke and the smile slid off Arthur's face and instead was replaced with a stunned look.

"You have magic?" Arthur asked and Merlin nodded.

"I-I was born with it. I didn't learn to use it and I've never used it for anything bad. You have to believe that." Merlin insisted, he had hoped he would be able to explain things rationally however instead he had gone straight into grovelling and gabbling stage.

Arthur wanted to sink into his chair and think however the news that one of his best friends had magic kept him standing upright. Magic was evil and Merlin had magic yet Merlin wasn't evil. Was he? Unsure of what to say or do, Arthur reacted the only way he knew how to when faced with a possible threat. Arthur grabbed his sword and aimed it at Merlin who looked scared but also seemed to have some sort of acceptance in his eyes; like he knew this was going to happen.

"Give me one reason why I shouldn't kill you right now." Arthur said and Merlin scrambled to find something to say. What could he possibly say that would get Arthur to see reason and understand.

"Because I need to tell you the full truth and about our destinies." Merlin said and Arthur's brow furrowed in confusion but he didn't lower his sword.

"What are you talking about?" Arthur asked and before Merlin could answer, the door opened and Gwen walked in. Gwen froze at the sight of Arthur aiming his sword at Merlin, ready to run him through with it and cautiously stepped forwards.

"What is going on?" Gwen asked.

"Merlin is a sorcerer." Arthur spat and Gwen stared at Merlin wide-eyed.

"Is this true?" Gwen asked Merlin. Merlin, a sorcerer? Surely Merlin was the last person anyone would suspect of being a sorcerer. How could someone who was best friends with the prince and who lived in Camelot, right under Uther's nose, be someone with magic and not be caught? Yet the more she thought about it, a lot more things began to make sense…

"Actually, I'm a warlock, not a sorcerer. Sorcerer's learn magic but I was born with it." Merlin replied. "Believe me, if I was someone who chose to study magic I wouldn't be in Camelot."

"How can we believe you? How can we believe a word you say?" Arthur demanded and Gwen placed a hand on his arm.

"Arthur calm down and put the sword away. The last thing we want is for your father to overhear this." Gwen said and Arthur looked at her before slowly putting his sword away but kept a firm grip on the hilt. Gwen turned back to Merlin who was still looking scared. "Merlin, I think you have some explaining to do."

And explain he did, for over half an hour Merlin spoke into rapt silence. He explained how he had been born with magic and how he had come to Camelot in order to try and learn how to use and control his abilities. Merlin told them both of all the times he had used magic to save their lives and indeed the kingdom. Merlin explained how he was destined to help Arthur become the Once and Future King and unite the land of Albion before restoring magic to Albion. Merlin told them how he had helped save lives, vanquished monsters and foes. He told them how Gaius and Hunith had obviously been aware of his abilities and reluctantly confessed that bot Will and Lancelot also knew but each had taken the blame for his actions. Merlin relayed various anecdotes of how his magic had been the cause and solution for several of their escapades. Finally he told them that despite his powerful magic, it hadn't stopped him from being unable to save the life of his father and the only woman he had ever loved; Balinor and Freya. At this point his voice trailed off into silence as he looked nervously at his friends.

Both Arthur and Gwen sat in silence, absorbing all that Merlin had told them. For their entire lives, they had been raised to believe that magic and those who used it were evil. Yet Merlin sat before them and explained how magic had been used to save their lives countless times. If magic and magic-users were evil then if their upbringing was true then they ought to have been dead long ago but they were alive and only alive because of Merlin. The warlock.

Their friend.

That was the crux of the issue. Merlin was their friend and they trusted him. However in all the time they had known him, Merlin had lied to them about this massive secret. He managed to fool them into thinking he was just simple, foolish Merlin when in reality, he had all this power. The fact that he had told them everything, knowing that they could have summoned Uther at any moment showed how much he trusted them and finally, Arthur looked at Gwen. Gwen looked back at him and slowly stood up.

Gwen stepped forwards and wrapped her arms tightly around a stunned Merlin. The tight hug was followed by a hand clapping him on the shoulder. The gestures prompted only one response from Merlin who allowed the emotions that had been building up inside him out as tears began to run down his face. Merlin hugged Gwen back with all his might before breaking the hug to clasp Arthur's wrist the way all the knights did. neither Arthur nor Gwen said a word but they didn't have to. Merlin knew what their actions meant and he offered his two best friends a watery smile.

"Thank you," Merlin whispered as Arthur gave him a quick hug before he placed his arm around Gwen.

"No Merlin. Thank _you."_ Arthur replied.


	12. Zombieland

**AN: Two of my favourite movies are 'Zombieland' and 'Shaun of the Dead' mainly because I love it when horror is mixed with comedy, plus who doesn't love zombies? **

It began with a virus. A mutated form of a stomach virus which affected both the immune and nervous system, causing an unexpected response in those affected. Symptoms were easy to spot; a fever, vomiting blood and then an insatiable craving for human flesh. The virus wasn't air or waterborne but it decimated lives even so. All it took was one bite from an Infected for the virus to be transferred. The human race liked to think that it was prepared for any sort of attack; be it an attack on their nation or their bodies. Yet as the virus spread and The Infected began to grow in number; the human race struggled to fight back. Everyone had seen the movies or TV shows and thought they could protect themselves.

They were wrong.

There were only a few ways in which people could survive. A few methods which ensured that they survived a little bit longer than the rest. Before long, humanity was divided into two groups; The Survivors and The Infected. With their all-but-dead life quality; inability to be reasoned with, loss of self and emotional attachment, craving for fresh human flesh as well as the deterioration and rotting of their own bodies due to the virus; logically those who were known as The Infected became The Horde before being dubbed as what they truly were.

Zombies.

As this was reality and not some big (or low) budget TV-series or horror movie and especially in countries like England were it was only legal to have a gun in certain circumstances; how was it that some threads of humanity managed to survive? How could the average person who never used a gun and never killed anyone supposed to become a zombie-slaying hero? As law and order collapsed and society crumbled; there were only two rules left for the Survivors as they fought daily for their lives. The first was; 'Do whatever you can to survive' and the second was; 'Don't do anything stupid'.

The rules were simple but for the most part, they were effective. Whilst guns were in limited supply; the zombies didn't have the complete upper hand. Whilst they were brutal and bloodthirsty, they were still in human bodies and no matter what; any sort of blunt-force trauma to the head or any sort of damage to the brain was enough to kill them. Therefore as long as a Survivor had a weapon and used their own brain, then they stood a chance of living another day.

Merlin and Arthur banded together not long after the virus began spreading rapidly. They made a good team, Merlin's rational balanced out Arthur's impulsiveness and Arthur's ability to crack open a zombie's skull in under five seconds supported Merlin's still-developing fighting skills. The two had managed to live in Arthur's flat which high enough not to let any zombies in but also was provided an escape route when needed. Every week or so they would leave the flat in order to gather more supplies as well as try and find someone who wasn't a zombie. It was on one of these particular outings that the two of them met Gwen.

"Shit," Arthur muttered as they neared the car park of the Tesco he and Merlin frequently raided and found that there were at least twenty stumbling around the car park alone. With the doors wide open, they could only assume there would be more inside and to even attempt to go near it would be suicide.

"There's an Asda not too far from here, we could try it." Merlin suggested and Arthur pressed on the accelerator and sped down the street, weaving in and out of long-abandoned vehicles before Merlin pointed out the windscreen at a lone zombie staggering down the street. "Zombie."

"You want to take it?" Arthur offered. In a post-apocalyptic world with no television or internet, entrainment was hard to come by. Drive-By-Zombie-Smashing was surprisingly a lot of fun, plus it meant there were fewer zombies chasing them albeit one at a time.

"Go on then," Merlin replied as he reached for his hockey bat and lowered his window. Arthur drove up beside the zombie and Merlin hung out the window and with a quick swing; cracked the zombie across the back of the head causing it to stumble into the pavement and lay twitching on the ground before it stilled. Merlin slipped back into the car and wound up the window again before setting the bat at his feet.

"Nice shot." Arthur commented as they reached the Asda and parked right outside the door in case they needed to make a quick getaway. In the back seat of their car was a collection of various weapons which had proven useful against the zombie. Aside from a collection of baseball, hockey and cricket bats; they had also raided a garden centre and acquired some shovels, gardening forks and shears as well as hatchets and axes. Merlin pulled out a second bat and Arthur chose a shovel and a hatchet before they entered the empty supermarket.

"Hang on," Merlin said and he hit the floor with his bat three times to make a loud banging noise before holding it aloft, ready to strike however no zombies came charging towards the noise. Merlin and Arthur took that as a sign that it was safe to precede and moved slowly into the supermarket, taking a trolley to gather their supplies in as well as placing one of the bats and the shovel into the trolley to keep their hands free. As they moved further into the supermarket; they saw why no zombies had reacted to the noise. A bludgeoned zombie was lying on the floor in one aisle and in two more aisles were another two zombies.

"Looks like someone beat us to it." Arthur commented as he threw some cereal boxes into the trolley and Merlin raised his bat.

"Did you hear that?" Merlin asked. Arthur stopped and they heard the noise again. Arthur raised his axe over his shoulder as they heard the noise again, louder as though it were approaching.

"I hit it first, you do the kill shot." Arthur muttered as they crept towards the end of the aisle, their weapons aloft as they turned the aisle. What had approached them wasn't a zombie. Instead they were face to face with a young woman who was holding a makeshift weapon of a wooden broom handle which had scissors attached to it. Judging by the blood splatters on her clothes and the still-stained weapon; Merlin and Arthur worked out that she was the one who killed the zombies. All three of them froze at the sight of the others and after a moment, they lowered their weapons slightly.

"Who are you?" the woman asked.

"I'm Merlin, this is Arthur. Who are you?" Merlin asked.

"Gwen, what are you doing here?" Gwen asked.

"Getting supplies, did you kill those zombies?" Arthur asked and Gwen shrugged.

"I had to; I needed somewhere to hide and figured here was as good as any. It's got food, water, blankets; only problem is that I've been here a few days and the corpses are starting to stink the place up. Pringle?" Gwen replied as she pulled a packet of Pringles off a shelf, opened it and offered some to Merlin and Arthur.

"So why are you staying here?" Arthur asked and Gwen shrugged.

"Got nowhere else to go. Before this happened I had a dad and a brother; now it's just me and my scissor-stick." Gwen shrugged before looking at them. "What about you two? You brothers? Mates? How you guys wind up here?"

"Before the zombies, I was a lawyer and worked with my dad. He's gone. My sister was bitten then she bit him so I took them out, stole my dad's car and went driving around. Met Merlin a few days later; stopped him from becoming an all-you-can-eat zombie meal." Arthur replied casually as he took a few more Pringles.

"What about you?" Gwen asked Merlin who shrugged his shoulders.

"I was a student, just finishing my Masters when it began. Don't know whether or not my mum's alive but since she lives in Ireland and Britain's been cut off from the rest of the world, I can't find out. Anyway Arthur saved me like he said by running over the zombies who were chasing me; I helped him loot a B&Q store and we've stuck together ever since." Merlin explained as the three of them wandered back to the trolley and continued filling it.

"Scary how fast things change, a few months ago my biggest problem was fighting with my ex-boyfriend. Now I'm fighting zombies." Gwen commented as they came across another zombie she'd killed and jabbed it absent-mindedly with the scissor-stick.

"So what are you going to do now?" Arthur asked Gwen curiously and Gwen shrugged her shoulders.

"Survive," Gwen replied. "All I can do really. What about you boys?"

"Same I suppose," Arthur commented and Merlin looked at Gwen.

"You know, you could come with us. We'd stand a better chance of surviving if we're in a group." Merlin offered and Arthur nodded. It would be good if Gwen joined them, if she could take out half a dozen zombies on her own; she'd be a good ally and friend to have and like them; she had no other attachments. These days anyone who wasn't a blood-crazed zombie had the possibility to be a friend. In the end, they were human and in the daily battles of humans vs. zombies; the humans needed all the help they could get.

Gwen looked at Merlin and Arthur for a moment. They seemed trustworthy but these days anyone who wasn't chewing on human flesh qualified as trustworthy. Plus she could look after herself and if they caused her trouble, she could fight back. However there was something about the two of them, something which caused her instincts to believe that these two men could be trusted. Like if they had met in another time, either before the outbreak or if it had never happened; they would have been friends.

"All right," Gwen replied and she shook both of their hands. The three of them continued wandering through the supermarket throwing various bits and pieces into the trolley, stocking up on drinks, tinned foods and packets as well as junk food. There was no point going near any of the meat, frozen and dairy products and finally with a full trolley, they returned to the doorway and Arthur's car. After piling all the food into the boot of the car alongside the weapons, the three of them climbed into the car and took off back to Arthur's place.

That evening the three of them were grouped in Arthur's lounge. The fire in the grate offered light and warmth as the three of them sat around wrapped in blankets and quilts telling stories, cracking jokes and even singing as they shared some of the food they had taken that day. For the first time since it happened; the three of them felt a sense of peace. The world had fallen around them; there were literally thousands of zombies baying for blood and they had no idea whether or not they would still be alive this time tomorrow but somehow; that didn't matter.

It was Merlin who realised; after Arthur and Gwen had fallen asleep and he was about to drift off; that if the three of them stuck together then there was no reason why they couldn't have some chance of survival. He just knew that somehow and someway; they would be able to survive. If they stuck together and worked together as a team then they would make it in the end.


	13. Babysitting

**AN: Modern AU**

"'_Help me babysit my cousin'_ you said. _'He's a good kid' _you said. No offense Merlin but your cousin's a demon." Arthur stated, glaring at Merlin before the two teenagers looked around the room.

The entire house looked as though a hurricane had hit it. The hallway was covered in coats, the lounge had cushions and toys scattered everywhere, the bathroom was simply a soaked floor with a mountain of soggy toilet paper in the middle and the kitchen cupboards had been emptied onto the floor. The only part of the house that had remained unscathed were the upstairs bedrooms due to the childproof gates at either end of the staircase. What was astounding was that this mess had been created in under an hour by one child. A child which was currently nowhere to be found.

"Mordred!" Merlin called. "Mordred where are you?"

"He can't have gotten far. He's three after all." Arthur reasoned and Merlin shook his head. There was a reason why he made sure he was not babysitting his cousin alone. Mordred was hyperactive, naughty and impossible to keep a track of and like every three year old, had a short attention span and desires to explore, play and make a mess.

To answer Arthur's comment, there was a loud crashing noise in the kitchen and by the time they reached the kitchen, the pots and pans were scattered on the floor and Mordred was happily making them into a drum kit. Merlin crept up behind him and hoisted Mordred into the air by the waist.

"NO! WANNA PLAY! MERLIN! I WANNA PLAY!" Mordred roared as he furiously squirmed and kicked and tried to free himself. Merlin winced as Mordred's heels hit off his legs but he refused to set the toddler down again.

"You're not playing until you help us clean this mess." Merlin said and Mordred just yelled louder and kicked all the harder trying to free himself. Merlin held his cousin at arm's length and stared him out. Even at his young age however, Mordred had mastered an unnervingly piercing stare and he stopped his tantrum in order to stare Merlin out.

"Finished?" Merlin asked and Mordred nodded. Merlin set the toddler onto the floor again and bent down to pick up the saucepans. The second his back was turned, Mordred had ran off, laughing loudly as he began playing again. Merlin swore under his breath and found Arthur in the lounge, looking confused and panicked as Mordred bounced on the sofa, throwing his toys around. Again Merlin picked Mordred up and Mordred immediately began having another tantrum. Merlin was running low on patience and so pulled out his phone to make a low but usually successful threat.

"Mordred if you don't stop being naughty right now, I'm going to phone your mum." Merlin warned. Mordred ignored him and Merlin made a show of pressing various buttons on the phone before holding it to his ear. "If you don't stop being naughty I'll tell your mum just what you've done and then you'll be in trouble." Merlin warned as he set Mordred down. Rather than yelling or running off, Mordred simply sat on the sofa, folded his arms and glared at Merlin and Arthur with an angry pout. Merlin sighed and looked at Arthur who had his own phone out.

"What are you doing?" Merlin asked and Arthur looked at him.

"Calling in reinforcements." Arthur replied and Merlin looked at him.

"What are you on about?" Merlin asked.

"We can't deal with him. He's a nightmare, I'm getting the expert in." Arthur replied as he found the number he was looking for. It was just past three so she would have finished work.

Gwen had just finished her shift at The Dragon's Egg café where she worked and she and one of her co-workers were just leaving when he turned to her. They had been working together for a few months and they got on pretty well. Gwen would be lying if she said that she didn't find him attractive. The two of them were just outside the café when Lancelot smiled at her.

"So Gwen, I was wondering whether-" Lancelot began but was cut off by Gwen's phone ringing.

"Sorry," Gwen said and she answered the phone. "Hello?"

"Guinevere, listen you aren't busy are you?" Arthur asked?

"I just finished work, why?" Gwen replied.

"We need your help, we're babysitting Merlin's evil cousin. We wouldn't ask but the kid is a monster!" Arthur explained and Gwen shook her head.

"All right, are you at Merlin's or where are you?" Gwen asked.

"Um we're at his aunt's house. Hang on," Arthur said and turned to Merlin. "What's the address?"

"23 Ash Grove." Merlin replied and Arthur repeated it to Gwen as Mordred seemed to regain his desire to play and ran off.

"Damn it he's off again! Guinevere please get here now!" Arthur said and hung up. Gwen shook her head with a smile and turned back to Lancelot.

"Sorry about that, Arthur and Merlin need me but what were you going to ask?" Gwen said and Lancelot gave a smile and shrugged his shoulders.

"Doesn't matter, see you tomorrow?" Lancelot said.

"Yeah, bye!" Gwen said and hurried off, not seeing the disappointment in Lancelot's eyes as she got into her car and headed for Ash Grove, a street not too far from her own. Gwen pulled up outside number 23 and rang on the doorbell. A few minutes later, Merlin opened the door and looked beyond relieved to see her.

"Thanks so much for coming." Merlin said as he let Gwen in.

"It's fine, where is he?" Gwen asked and Merlin led her into the kitchen where Mordred had managed to find the biscuit tin and was happily taking his pick from the biscuits inside.

"Mordred!" Merlin said and Mordred jumped, causing the tin to fall to the floor. Luckily it was a metal tin and therefore didn't break however Mordred had been scared and began crying all the time.

"Hey, it's OK. You're not hurt are you?" Gwen said as she knelt beside the toddler and checked his arms and legs for any injuries. Mordred shook his head and Gwen gave him a hug before turning to Merlin. "Has he eaten today?"

"My aunt said she fed him. He's just been acting crazy." Merlin replied and Gwen looked at Mordred, she would sometimes babysit her neighbour's children and this was something she was all too familiar with.

"I know what's wrong with him." Gwen said as she picked Mordred up. "Where's Arthur?"

"Locked himself in the bathroom after he rang you and Mordred began throwing his toys at him." Merlin replied and Gwen bit back a laugh. Merlin and Arthur were her best friends and usually the first to boast that they weren't afraid of and could handle everything. Everything that was, except for a toddler. What manly-men they were.

"Well tell him to get out of there and start cleaning up. I'll deal with Mordred." Gwen said as she rested Mordred on her hip and the toddler placed his head onto her shoulder, giving the impression that he was the quietest, sweetest and most innocent child on the planet. Crafty little kid.

"All right," Merlin said and hammered on the bathroom door. "Gwen's here and she says you need to get out here and start tidying."

Arthur unlocked the bathroom door and he and Merlin went to tidy the kitchen, clearing away the pots and pans and sweeping up the debris of Mordred's attempts to steal food. Once the kitchen was tidy, Merlin took the hallway and Arthur chose to clean the bathroom and half an hour later, they returned into the living room to see Mordred curled up on the sofa asleep and Gwen calmly sorting the last of the toys into a toy box that had been upended in the corner of the room.

"How did you do that?" Merlin asked as he looked at his sleeping cousin. Half an hour ago Mordred was practically bouncing off the walls.

"He was overtired and hyperactive and eventually even toddlers tire themselves out. Just let him sleep." Gwen said quietly as the three of them looked at Mordred who was curled up on the sofa, cushion under his head and Merlin's jacket draped around him.

"That's so weird. How do kids do that? Go from being completely mental to fast asleep?" Arthur asked and the others shrugged.

"No idea," Merlin said.

"Well he's quiet now at least." Gwen said as she sat on another sofa and grinned at them. "I can't believe you were scared of a child."

"You seen him." Arthur replied defensively and Gwen shook her head fondly.

"Only you two wouldn't be able to handle a three-year-old. Don't worry, I won't tell the others about this." Gwen stated and smiled at the relieved look on Arthur and Merlin's faces. If the rest of their friends knew about this, they would never be able to live it down.

"Thanks," Merlin said.

Fifteen minutes later, Merlin's aunt returned to see Merlin, Arthur and Gwen sitting in the living room chatting and Mordred still asleep on the sofa. Nimueh gently woke Mordred up and the tired toddler gave his mum a hug before Nimueh turned to the three teenagers.

"He wasn't too much trouble was he?" Nimueh asked as she paid them for looking after Mordred. Merlin looked at Arthur and Gwen and shook his head.

"No, he was good as gold. Wasn't he?" Gwen said to Arthur and Merlin who smiled and nodded.

"Yes, he was." Arthur said.

"A little angel." Merlin added as he ruffled his cousin's hair and Mordred smiled at him as he rested his head on his mum's shoulder. "Anyway, we should be going."

"Of course, thanks again for looking after Mordred." Nimueh said as she looked at her son. "Wht do you say Mordred."

"Fank you," Mordred said with a yawn and the three teenagers left the house and climbed into Gwen's car. The moment they were out of the street, Arthur looked at Merlin and Gwen.

"Never again."

Modern AU

this idea amused me and


	14. MIA

**AN: This prompt came from gorgeousangel who wanted for a World War I story. This was something different for me but I hope it works out OK.**

The telegram arrived in the post along with the other letters. It was collected by one of the maids who handed it to the master of the house before dutifully returning to her work. The maid recognised the style of telegram; it was one that many of the women in their town had received over the past four years and Hunith shook her head sadly as she quickly crossed herself and returned to her work. It wasn't just the fact that she had watched the young master grow up and go to war but it was also the fact that her son and the stable-master's daughter were best friends with her employer's son. Hunith knew this was going to break their hearts.

Like any sort of news in any sort of small town; the fact that Uther Pendragon received a telegram about his son spread like wildfire. However it soon emerged that his twenty-two year old son Arthur had not been killed in action but rather he was MIA- Missing In Action yet the one word difference did little to reassure anyone that Arthur was safe. Some even considered a soldier who was MIA was worse than one who was KIA. If a soldier was dead then he was dead. A missing one could be injured, he could be dead but his body not found, he could be a deserter who would be executed for cowardice. There was little doubt in the majority of people's minds that Arthur would not return home.

Three months after Arthur was declared MIA and there was still no news whether he was found or if he was alive or dead. Many people had assumed he was dead however a slight few clung onto hope. Two such people were Merlin and Gwen. Merlin's mother Hunith worked as a maid in the Pendragon's manor and Gwen's father Tom was in charge of the stables and the Pendragon's many fine horses. As a result Gwen and Merlin spent most of their childhood playing with Arthur and the three of them were the best of friends.

This friendship however was one that raised many eyebrows. Not just from their parents but from other people in the town. The three children could not have been any more different if they had tried. Arthur was the son of one of the wealthiest men in Britain with a passion for rough and tumble games. Merlin had been a frail and sickly child who preferred to sit and read rather than play. Gwen and her family were the only coloured people in their town and she was fascinated by animals and flowers. Somehow however their differences in background, wealth, interests and health didn't deter them from being friends, in fact it seemed to make it stronger and this friendship continued well into their adulthood and even after Arthur went to war.

Merlin sat in the library of the town lost in thought. His mind had a tendency to go over and over what happened the day that his mother told him about the telegram.

"_Merlin, can you come here son?" Hunith asked and Merlin walked into the kitchen where his mother was standing looking upset. Merlin looked at her worried, something had happened._

"_What is it?" Merlin asked and Hunith looked at him._

"_Sit down Merlin," Hunith suggested and Merlin shook his head. He could tell that something bad had happened but he needed to hear it now. _

"_What is it? What's happened?" Merlin asked again and Hunith walked over and took his hand gently and looked him directly in the face._

"_It's Arthur." Hunith said gently. "He's been reported Missing In Action."_

_Merlin's free hand flew to his mouth and he slowly sank into the kitchen chair in shock. Arthur missing? The idea seemed impossible and so many questions where running through his mind. Where was Arthur? How did he get lost? Was he injured? Would he be found? All Merlin knew was that Arthur wouldn't have gone AWOL so the question remained; where was he?_

Ever since they had been children; Merlin, Arthur and Gwen had been the best of friends and neither of them had been able to accept the possibility that Arthur mightn't return from war. Every day for the past three months, the pair of them had been desperate for any sort of news from their parents about any other telegrams Uther may have received but it was as though Arthur had disappeared from the face of the earth. They knew that when Arthur enlisted that he was endangering himself but they had hope that he would return. Merlin himself had been unable to enlist due to the ill health he had suffered as a child. Even as an adult, a slight cold was enough to keep him bedridden and the last time he had a fever, he'd almost died. This ill health had been the only thing that stopped him enlisting with Arthur and him having any chance of attempting to find him.

Merlin was jolted out of his thoughts by a knocking at the door. Merlin opened the door to see Gwen standing on the doorstep and he let her into the house. Gwen walked into the living room and sat down. Before he could say anything Gwen shook her head and Merlin nodded as he sighed heavily.

"Still nothing?" Merlin asked.

"So my father says. There's been no news of anyone else but Leon's mother said she got a letter from him yesterday and he says that it shouldn't be too long before the Germans surrender." Gwen replied as she absent-mindedly rubbed her hands on her apron. In their town Merlin worked as a librarian and Gwen worked in a tea shop and before he had gone to war; Arthur had been intending on joining his father's business.

"That's something I suppose." Merlin replied and Gwen nodded.

"I miss him," Gwen said and smiled at Merlin. "Do you remember that den we made in their garden when we were younger?"

Merlin smiled at the memories of the space between some trees in the gardens of Pendragon Manor which had been used as a den and a setting for their pretend games as children. "It was almost impossible for our parents to get us out of there. The amount of times we would beg to stay another five minutes but we were never allowed."

"I still have the scars from the day you and Arthur dared me to climb the tree." Gwen commented with a smile, lifting her skirt slightly to show Merlin the scar on her leg just below her knee and running a hand over the scar just below her hairline.

"We didn't dare you, we said it was too difficult for anyone to climb and you had to prove us wrong. We told you not to do it but you insisted you had to." Merlin replied and Gwen shrugged her shoulders.

"It was fifteen years ago and I hit my head falling out of a tree, you can't expect me to remember every detail." Gwen dismissed as her face unexpectedly crumpled and she buried her face into her hands and her body began to shake with sobs. In an instant Merlin had gotten up from his armchair and was sat on the sofa beside Gwen with his arms around her as she cried onto his shoulder.

"I know Gwen, I miss him too." Merlin reassured as the two friends hugged.

"It's been three months Merlin. What if he doesn't come back?" Gwen asked as she wiped her eyes.

"He'll come back." Merlin reassured even though they both knew they were just empty words. Arthur could be anywhere in Europe. He could be lost, injured, be suffering memory loss or trapped in a POW camp. Merlin didn't want to consider the last option.

"How can we be sure?" Gwen asked and Merlin looked at her.

"I don't know what it is. Call it faith, hope, intuition but somehow I don't think he's dead? It probably sounds mad but I feel as though, if Arthur was dead; we would know. We would almost feel it. Does that make sense?" Merlin asked; wondering whether there was anything to be said for gut instinct or was it simply just an extreme case of denial?

Gwen moved back from Merlin and rubbed her face. "No I understand. It's the same with Elyan; if anything happened to him then I would just know."

"Exactly and if there hasn't been any telegrams then that means that there also haven't been any to say that he's dead. there's still hope." Merlin reassured and Gwen nodded. Merlin looked at Gwen and smiled before they hugged each other tightly.

"Thanks Merlin. Anyway I should be going. Father will be finished work soon and I need to get dinner ready." Gwen said as she stood up. Merlin smiled and stood up and he walked her to the door. On the doorstep they hugged again and as Gwen walked down the street, she passed Hunith who smiled warmly at her and they exchanged brief pleasantries before going their own way.

When Gwen reached her own house, Tom hadn't gotten back from work and as she quickly peeled some potatoes for their dinner, Gwen let memories of her childhood with Merlin and Arthur wander freely in her mind. It was early summer and all afternoon she had seen schoolchildren playing in the street which had triggered memories of her own childhood with the boys as well as the possibility that those memories could be all that remained of their friendship with Arthur. Gwen shook her head and turned her attention to the carrots that also needed peeling. Merlin was right; until they knew for certain that Arthur was dead then there was still hope that he was still alive.

A few weeks later Gwen was working in the teashop when Merlin came in. "Hello Merlin," Gwen said with a smile.

"Hi Gwen, listen you have to come with me to Pendragon Manor." Merlin said and Gwen frowned slightly.

"I'm working," Gwen replied and Merlin looked around to see Annis, the owner of the tea shop and Gwen's boss. Merlin walked over to Annis and spoke briefly to her. Annis walked over to Gwen and nodded at her.

"It's all right Gwen, I doubt we'll be very busy. You run along and see what your father wants." Annis said and Gwen nodded before stepping out behind the counter and walking with Merlin out of the shop and down the street.

"My father?" Gwen asked and Merlin shrugged his shoulders.

"My mother just came back to the house and told me to fetch you then go up to the manor. I honestly don't know what's going on." Merlin replied and Gwen grabbed his arm tightly, looking scared.

"You don't think," Gwen said and Merlin shook his head defiantly.

"No. but we should see what Mr Pendragon wants." Merlin replied and they continued in the direction of the manor, turning off the main road to walk down the winding drive to the house. Standing on the front step and clearly waiting their arrival were Hunith and Tom who led them into the manor. Gwen and Merlin looked at each other and took each other's hands, attempting to reassure the other and themselves that nothing bad had happened. in a matter of moments they were standing outside the door to Uther's private study and they exchanged a look before Merlin knocked on the door.

"Enter." Uther called and Gwen pushed open the door and they stepped inside. Despite knowing him for their entire lives, there was something about Uther Pendragon which still slightly intimidated Merlin and Gwen. Even as children they knew that Uther disapproved of Arthur's friendship with them however he never tried to stop them being friends because of how happy their friendship made Arthur. Uther was sitting behind his desk as Gwen and Merlin approached him.

"You wanted to see us sir?" Gwen asked and Uther looked up at them.

"I didn't ask to see you." Uther replied and Merlin's brow furrowed.

"Then why were we told to come here?" Merlin asked, confused and Uther looked at them with a curious look on his face.

"I didn't ask to see you." Uther repeated as behind them, the door opened again and they heard a strange stepping/clunking noise before a familiar voice, one they never expected to hear again spoke.

"I asked to see you."

Gwen and Merlin's mouths fell open as they turned to see the man who had just entered the room. He was slightly thinner than he had been the last time they had seen him but he still looked the same since he had left them four years prior though with clear signs of where he had been. His right arm was in a sling and his left hand was tightly clutching a cane and there was a scar on his face. Nonetheless he was beaming at the sight of them and that grin was what prompted Gwen and Merlin to run across the room and fling their arms tightly around them as all three of them cried at their reunion.

"Arthur," Gwen said as she pressed her face into his shoulder and Merlin clapped his back as they continued standing in the tight hug; reunited at last.


	15. Reaping Day

**AN: Panem AU**

"Big day today." Arthur commented sarcastically as the three teenagers sat in the meadow by the edge of their town, with all the shops and businesses closed it was quiet enough for them to hear the sounds of the people employed to prepare the town square for the Reaping Ceremony. At eighteen years old this was the last year that the three of them were eligible to compete but by no means did that ensure their safety. Every year the amount of times their names entered rolled over and as both Merlin and Gwen collected Tesserae which meant their names were entered according to the members of their family. Whilst Arthur's name was entered only seven times, Merlin had twenty one entries and Gwen had twenty eight.

"And may the odds be ever in your favour." Merlin quoted, it appeared to be the slogan of the Hunger Games. Depending on how many times your name was entered you had a high or low possibility of being Reaped and even then it was down to the luck of the draw. Once a tribute was in the arena, anyone could win.

As they sat in the field in silence, Gwen turned to Arthur. "How's Morgana?"

"I haven't seen her today but she was pretty shaken yesterday." Arthur replied, a year ago his cousin Morgana had been reaped at the age of seventeen and after most of the tributes had been killed, Morgana who had initially hidden herself away emerged and fought viciously and violently. In the end it had come down to her and a male Career and after a brutal fight to the death, Morgana had emerged victorious as the boy succumbed to his wounds before she did. When she came home however, she wasn't the same person. Haunted by the memories of the games, Morgana seemed to lose focus with the world or else suffer crippling and often violent flashbacks or nightmares about the Games.

"Yeah, we should get going, the ceremony starts at two." Merlin said as he stood up. The three of them walked across the field and headed their separate ways. Merlin and Gwen headed for the poorer side of town whilst Arthur, the mayor's son returned to his own house. After a quick wash and change, they left their homes and walked with their families to the town square.

Merlin hugged his mother tightly before joining the queue to sign in, spotting Gwen hugging her father and older brother before going to join the queues. Once they had signed in, the teenagers were all shepherded into their assigned areas according to their ages. As eighteen year olds they were stood at the very front just in front of the stage. Arthur was already waiting on them dressed in a clean shirt and trousers. Merlin was wearing his best shirt and trousers which he only wore on Reaping days and the occasional wedding. Gwen was wearing a light purple dress and was playing with her hair, braiding it through her fingers to try and calm herself down.

"Hey, in about half an hour it'll all be over." Merlin reassured as Arthur's father Uther stepped out of the Justice Building and onto the stage accompanied by Nimueh Stone, their District's escort from the Capitol. As silence fell over the square, Uther began with the speech about how various natural disasters, famine and war resulted in the creation of their nation of Panem. He spoke about the thirteen Districts and the Capitol and the Rebellion; the result of which was the Hunger Games wherein two tributes aged between twelve and eighteen from each District had to fight to the death with the winner being the last tribute alive. Uther then introduced and named the nine Victors their district had before turning his attention to Nimueh who stepped forwards.

"Happy Hunger Games," Nimueh announced as she smiled at the teenagers stood terrified before her. "And may the odds be ever in your favour."

Gwen, Merlin and Arthur clasped each other's hands tightly as Nimueh reached into the bowl of girls' names and picked one out at random. None of them dared to even breathe as she unfolded the name and read it aloud.

It wasn't Gwen. Gwen maintained a tight hold on the boys' hands as a brief feeling of relief swept through her. It wasn't her. She wasn't going to compete in the games. The Tribute was a fifteen year old girl who made her way to the stage as Nimueh reached into the bowl of boys' names. All three of them were trembling as she read the name aloud.

It wasn't Arthur or Merlin. Both boys let out sighs of relief as a sixteen year old boy Arthur vaguely recognised as the butcher's son made his way to the stage and shook hands with the tribute girl. As the anthem played, Merlin, Gwen and Arthur let go of each other's hands and felt an overwhelming sense of relief wash over them. They were eighteen years old and hadn't been Reaped.

In their own way they'd beaten the Hunger Games.


	16. Sleepover

**AN: This idea came to mind unexpectedly and I think it's cute. Set just after 3x13**

"Have any of you seen Arthur?" Leon asked, stifling a yawn. It had been a busy day for all of them. Still running on the adrenaline of the battle and the euphoria of their victory, the Round Table had been flat out organising things that needed to be done. Uther had to be examined by Gaius and Gwen, the knights had to assess the damage that had been done to the town and the castle, Merlin was assigned to find whatever Morgana and Morgause had left behind and Arthur was running here, there and everywhere trying to oversee everything as well as discuss with the council about taking the title of Prince Regent and organising rooms in the castle for the newest knights. Dusk had settled in and once they had stopped working, the realisation that they had been awake for a full day, fought in battle and won as well as began trying to rebuild a kingdom caught up with them.

"Not since earlier, speaking of which have any of you seen Gwen?" Elyan asked and Lancelot shook his head.

"Not since we were in the courtyard." Lancelot replied and Leon looked around.

"He might be in his chambers but we just need to make sure everything's done for the day then head to bed ourselves. I don't know about you lot but I'm exhausted." Gwaine said with a yawn and the men began walking towards Arthur's chambers. It was strange that they had become good friends in the space of literally two days but given all they had been through, it would have been difficult not to become friends.

One thing they had all been aware of was the friendship that existed between Arthur, Merlin and Gwen. All of them except for Percival knew that Arthur, Merlin and Gwen were friends and Percival quickly learnt just how close and strong their friendship was. Privately, all of them were certain that Arthur wouldn't have been able to become the leader he was and ensure their victory had he not had the support of his two best friends. Whilst they had that unexpected and welcome brotherhood feeling of being knights and they knew that they would become better friends as time went on there was something about Arthur, Merlin and Gwen's friendship was made it something unique and special. There was a deeper bond between them and one which almost couldn't be explained.

"Arthur?" Leon asked as he knocked once on Arthur's door. There was no reply and Leon slowly opened the door and entered the room.

"Aw bless," Gwaine commented cheekily at the sight before them.

All three of them, Arthur, Merlin and Gwen were lying on top of Arthur's bed, still in the clothes they had been wearing that day and all three of them were fast asleep. Gwen was lying in the middle on her side and Arthur had an arm protectively over her waist and was snoring gently. Merlin was on her other side and leaning against the headboard as though he was keeping watch over them before he had succumbed to exhaustion, which knowing Merlin meant he had been. Gwen's hand was a few millimetres away from Merlin's which suggested that they had fallen asleep whilst holding hands. To anyone else the idea may seem scandalous given Arthur and Gwen's relationship but the knights knew better and knew it was a sign of the level of closeness and trust between the trio.

"We should let them sleep." Lancelot muttered, trying not to look too enviously as the hold Arthur had on Gwen and instead thought about why they were so exhausted, sleepiness was catching up on all of them.

"Yeah we should." Percival whispered as Arthur gave a sudden louder snore and without waking up Gwen kicked him in the shin and Merlin muttered something that sounded like 'prat'. The five men stifled laughs and Elyan shook his head fondly at his sleeping sister.

"That's why I don't snore. She once almost broke my nose one night, hit me right in the face and slept through the whole thing." Elyan whispered, thinking of the numerous bruises sustained during the night thanks to sleepy kicks and hits from his sister.

"No wonder it looks like that." Gwaine muttered as they crept quietly out of Arthur's chambers and shut the door gently. Elyan lightly thumped Gwaine's shoulder and Leon yawned again.

"Don't know about the rest of you but I'm going to bed too." Leon said. The knights muttered agreements and made their way slowly and tiredly to the knights' quarters before crashing out in their new bedrooms and sleeping late into the morning.


	17. Ghostbusting

**AN: Credit to Lara Smith who gave me the idea of a haunted house. **

"So it is Friday night. It is half ten and we are-" Arthur said to the camera before turning it onto Merlin who was holding a torch under his face.

"Going to find a ghost!" Merlin said before making a 'wooing' sound causing Gwen to shake her head.

"I still say there's no such thing." Gwen said and Arthur turned his video camera back onto himself.

"Viewers should be aware that Gwen doesn't believe in ghosts and if you are familiar with horror movies, you know the non-believer is always the first to be killed." Arthur said as they climbed through a gap in the rusted railings and moved through the dusk towards the large manor house at the end of the lane.

"I'm not going to die." Gwen insisted and Merlin turned to the camera.

"Can you see the house?" Merlin asked. "That's Camlann Manor. The story goes is that it's haunted by the ghost of a young woman who died in an accident but others say she was killed and her ghost is still in the house somewhere."

"And we're going to find out where. We've got our torches, a camera and about two hours until Merlin's parents get home so all that's left to say is,_'Who you gonna call?"_ Arthur asked as he turned the camera to Merlin and Gwen.

"Ghostbusters!" Merlin and Gwen laughed as they reached the house and looked up at it through the dim light of the dusk.

The darkness only added to the general aura of eeriness surrounding the eighteenth century manor. Ivy was widespread across the house, several of the windows were smashed and several roof tiles were missing. The house hadn't been lived in for decades and nobody even knew who owned the house anymore. The windows were dark and blank and the three approached the front door and pressed against the old oak door. The lock which had long since rusted through gave way with little protest and the door opened with a resounding creak which echoed around the cavernous hallway.

"Whoa," Merlin muttered as they stepped inside. Their footsteps were muffled by the thick layer of dust over the tiled floor. Despite its rundown condition there was still an air of extravagance in the old manor's foyer. The large ceiling and classic architecture meant they could easily imagine what the manor was like about two hundred years ago. There were also signs that the house hadn't been lived in. There were several large cobwebs draped over everything and they could hear the scurrying of at least one disturbed mouse.

"I hate mice." Gwen muttered as they walked down the foyer and reached a large oak door. Merlin pressed on the handle and stepped inside. As they scanned the room with their torches, Arthur turned around unexpectedly.

"Did you hear that?" Arthur asked.

"Hear what?" Gwen asked as she and Merlin walked around what must have been a drawing room or lounge which looked out onto the front gardens which would have been nice if it wasn't covered in waist-high grass.

"I thought I heard something." Arthur said as he walked into the room, capturing what was laminated by Merlin and Gwen's torches on his camera.

"Your mind's probably playing tricks on you." Gwen replied as she looked at Merlin. "So what was the story about this place again?"

"It depends which version you hear. Both versions say the house is haunted by a woman who was the daughter of the original owner who died when she was young. One version says she died in an accident, another says she killed herself and the third said she was murdered. Either way people say the place is haunted." Merlin said and they continued exploring the manor; discovering a large room that must have been a study and a dining room which still had a covered long table.

"That's sad." Gwen commented as they walked around the dining room and jumped at a sudden creaking noise. "Did you guys hear that?"

"Yeah," Merlin replied and looked at Arthur. "Was that you?"

"Wasn't me, come on let's keep exploring." Arthur said as he led the way out of the dining room and into different rooms including a large sun room and what must have been a kitchen before heading up the stairs. Their shoes echoed off the stone stairs and when they reached the top, they saw a large framed portrait of a beautiful dark-haired girl with green eyes and a warm and slightly cheeky smile who was dressed in a green Georgian style gown.

"Is that her?" Merlin asked and Gwen wiped the dust off the bottom of the frame with her sleeve and read it aloud as Arthur held the camera to it.

"In loving memory of our beloved daughter Morgana." Gwen read and Arthur raised the camera to capture an image of the painting. "1723-1744. She was twenty-one, that's so young."

"Wonder what happened to her." Arthur mused as they heard a loud bang which caused them all to jump.

"What was that?" Merlin asked as his heart began to pound madly in his chest.

"Pr-probably just the wind." Gwen stammered as Arthur took a step towards the noise. "Where are you going?"

"To see what made the noise." Arthur replied and clutching tightly to their torches, Merlin and Gwen hurried after Arthur and the three teenagers moved quickly through the dim light. None of them dared speak and their shadows rippled and expanded against the wall causing them to become more jumpy and alert as they crept towards the room which had been the source of the noise. All of their senses seemed to be working overtime; every sound was echoed ten times over and their eyes were roving as they tried to take in everything and everything, their hands were clenched to stop them trembling and they could almost taste the smell of damp, mould and rotting wood. Their hearts were bounding madly and their breathing was coming in shallow breathes as adrenaline coursed through their bodies. After what seemed like an eternity they reached the door that led into the room that the noise originated from and they looked at each other nervously.

"Go on then," Arthur said looking at Merlin.

"Why me? It was your idea." Merlin whispered.

"Well I'm not doing it," Gwen muttered causing Merlin and Arthur to look at her. "What?"

"Why not, you're the sceptic who doesn't believe in ghosts. If you don't think they're real, prove it." Arthur said and Gwen looked at the door before taking a deep breath and reaching for the door handle. With a resounding click and almost deafening creak the door swung open and they entered the room.

The door led into a finely decorated bedroom. There was a large four-poster bed against one wall facing the window as well as mahogany wardrobes and dresser which had blistered and cracked due to age. The mirror was covered in dust and one of the large glass panes in the window was smashed. Slowly and tentatively, their torches and camera scouring every inch of the room, none of them dared to even whisper or breathe loudly as they crept across the darkened room. There were no traces of any of the previous owners and they couldn't help but wonder whether this was Morgana's bedroom before her death. Merlin ran his torch across the floor, trying to find something which could have caused the banging noise. Arthur stepped slowly around the room, attempting to capture every detail on his camera and Gwen shivered as she felt a strange sensation behind her, as though it were getting closer and closer…

All three of them screamed as Merlin's mobile began ringing. Merlin fumbled in his pocket and answered his phone, attempting to remain calm as he saw his mum was ringing him.

"Hello?... Ok, how long until you're home?... Ok, bye." Merlin said and put his phone away. "My parents are on their way home."

"How long will that take them?" Arthur asked and Gwen checked her watch, surprised to see it had passed midnight.

"About half an hour so we need to go now." Merlin said and the others nodded as they quickly left the room and hurried down the stone stairs and out the manor doors and into the night. As Merlin shut the manor doors, the three of them jogged across the grass towards the gap in the fence and quickly walked back to Merlin's house, knowing that if anyone knew they were there, they'd be in big trouble. By the time Hunith and Balinor arrived home, the three teenagers were in Merlin's room lying in their bed and sleeping bags chatting about a horror movie they had watched when Hunith checked on them before going to bed.

The next afternoon Merlin walked back from the bus stop, having walked with Arthur and Gwen who were going home when he decided on a whim to go down the lane that led towards to Camlann Manor. He climbed through the gap in the fence and walked through the grass towards the manor. The manor looked less terrifying and ominous in the daylight but Merlin still got a shiver down his spine as he looked up at the house; taking in the air of desolation, the missing roof tiles, broken windows and…

"What the…?"

Merlin did a double take, looking away from the house and looking up again. Standing by the broken window of what he was certain was the room they had heard the banging in the night before was a young woman with waist length dark hair who waved at him. Merlin's mouth fell open and as he numbly waved back with one hand, he reached in his pocket with his free hand for his phone to try and contact the others or snap a picture of the girl who was smiling at him from her window.

But Merlin blinked and she was gone.


	18. Slap Bet

**AN: This is a short one based on the slap-bet from 'How I Met Your Mother'.**

"Ok this guy, what do we think?" Gwen asked as she, Arthur and Merlin left the great hall after Uther announced that a lord would be visiting Camelot. They had all noticed the correlation between visitors and various threats or problems that were thrown into their path and decided that a little preparation was in order.

"I'm going to with either a beast and/or magical creature attack." Arthur replied and Merlin shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know, the last one coincided with an escaped pixie so I'm going to with some form of treachery or assassination attempt." Merlin replied and looked at Gwen. "What do you think?"

"I'm not sure, maybe this time we'll strike lucky and nothing will happen." Gwen reasoned, almost every visitor they had these days resulted in some sort of chaos. Surely by now they were long overdue a break from that.

"That'll be the day." Arthur scoffed. "So what do you say we make this a little more interesting?"

"How?" Merlin asked and Arthur grinned at them.

"Slap bet." Arthur replied.

"Sure, we used to do slap bets all the time as children." Gwen nodded and Merlin looked at them.

"Slap bet? What's that?" Merlin asked.

"The clue's in the name Merlin. Slap. Bet. Basically the winner gets to slap the loser in the face." Arthur explained, noting how this explanation did little to ease Merlin's now-nervous expression.

"But there's a choice. You can either be slapped ten times in the face straight away or five times from when the bet is won until you die." Gwen added and looked at the two men. "I'm up for it."

"So am I, I promise I won't hit you both too hard." Arthur said smugly but also truthfully. Whenever he won slap bets depending on who his opponent was, he usually went fairly easy on them. Unless of course, they deserved it.

"What makes you think you're going to win?" Merlin asked confidently. He knew he was going to win. This particular lord hadn't been to Camelot for a few years and there had to be a reason behind that, a reason enough to become a traitor or hire an assassin.

"We're just going to have to let the best man win," Arthur said.

"Or woman." Gwen added as they shook each other's hands, confirming and beginning the bet.

When Lord Henry arrived in Camelot, Arthur, Merlin and Gwen were careful to keep a close eye on him and everyone else in the castle. All three of them were constantly on the lookout for some sort of sign or signal that something was amiss or dangerous. Their unusual behaviour hadn't gone unnoticed and they were swift to reassure Gaius and Uther that their observation was merely being done in the name of protecting the kingdom.

Finally it was Lord Henry's final day in Camelot and the three of them kept an extra vigilant eye on the middle-aged man. There had been no assassination attempts or indications that he may be a traitor and there had no trace of any beast or magical creature anywhere. Indeed it had been a quiet, peaceful, respectful visit and as they watched the lord and his servant ride off and the king returned inside, Gwen looked at Arthur and Merlin who knew the bet had been lost fair and square.

"I'll give you guys the choice. You can either have ten slaps now or the five drawn out over an indefinite amount of time." Gwen reasoned, secretly pleased that she had won the bet. Turned out Lord Henry had been away due to his wife being ill and unable to leave her side for too long and he was actually a genuinely decent person. Who knew?

"You know what, I'll take the ten." Merlin said and Arthur frowned at him.

"Ten? Are you mad? Why get slapped ten times when you can only be slapped five times?" Arthur asked, surely the better method was only being slapped five different times to spare yourself the pain.

"Because if I get slapped ten times, it's over and done with and I'm not always looking over my shoulder waiting for five slaps." Merlin replied and looked at Gwen. "Just make it quick, will you?"

"Ok, hold still." Gwen said. Merlin shut his eyes and braced himself. Gwen quickly slapped him five times on each cheek and after the last slap, quickly gave Merlin a tight hug. "Sorry,"

"It's fine," Merlin said as he pressed his hands to his now scarlet cheeks. Thankfully Gwen hadn't slapped him too hard but ten slaps in succession still meant a certain amount of pain.

Gwen turned to Arthur. "What about you? Do you want it over and done with?"

"No, I still say the five would be easier." Arthur replied and Gwen nodded. Five different opportunities and excuses to slap Arthur in the face… that could be very useful. Gwen took a step towards Arthur who instinctively flinched and Gwen burrowed her eyebrows slightly.

"I wasn't going to do anything." Gwen said and Merlin grinned at Arthur.

"A little bit jumpy aren't we?" Merlin asked and Arthur shook his head.

"Of course not." Arthur replied as they headed back into the castle. Once they reached the top of the stairs, Gwen turned to them.

"I have to get back to work." Gwen said and Merlin nodded.

"Yeah me too." Merlin said as Gwen turned and suddenly slapped Arthur across the face. Arthur stumbled back slightly and clutched his cheek out of shock rather than pain as Gwen looked at him innocently.

"That's one." Gwen said and walked down the corridor leaving a gobsmacked Arthur and Merlin behind her.


	19. Clearing The Air

**AN: Just re-watched 4x13 and I figured that this was missing; it still bugs me that Lancelot-Gate was never fully explored again.**

After the battle was over, the dead were being removed and prepared for burial, the last of Helios' men were either being captured or escaping and the people were overjoyed at their safety and the triumphant return of the proper king. In the castle however, said king was standing awkwardly in Gaius' chambers, watching as the weak physician and two battered knights were being tended to by Merlin, Leon and Percival. Gaius had been worryingly close to death, Gwaine had been beaten to a pulp and Elyan had been tortured for information. As Elyan and Merlin both told their side of what had happened, it was Leon who slipped his hand into his pocket and produced something that he had found.

"I was checking the cells before we put Helios' men into them for anything suspicious and found this." Leon said as the door opened and Gwen walked into the room.

"They've finished rounding up Helios' men." Gwen told Arthur before hurrying to Elyan's side and hugging him tightly, the siblings only breaking apart when the force of their hug caused Elyan's tortured body to pain him in protest.

"What are you doing here?" Elyan asked.

"Found her in Ealdor. After Agravaine attacked she joined us for the fight." Merlin explained.

"Wouldn't have missed it for the world." Gwen replied truthfully, like she was going to miss a chance to get one over on Morgana, see her loved ones again and return to Camelot in one go. Gwen looked at them all before her eyes fell on the item in Leon's hand. The one thing she would have hoped to never see again.

"W-where did you get that?" Gwen asked.

"I found it in the dungeons, do you recognise it?" Leon asked, taking a step forward but as he did, Gwen took one back.

"Get that thing away from me!" Gwen insisted loudly as all the memories came crashing back, more painful and horrible than ever before.

"What is it? Is it yours?" Arthur asked.

"It was." Gwen replied and looked Arthur dead in the face. "He gave it to me."

"He?" Arthur asked and the penny dropped. "You mean-"

"When he came back." Gwen confirmed. "I can't be here."

With that Gwen turned and hurried out of the room, Arthur followed after her and Merlin dropped the cloth and took the bracelet off Leon. Ignoring the men's confused looks, Merlin took the bracelet, grabbed one of Gaius's books and began doing research. If this was what he thought it was, then everything would be explained.

"Guinevere!" Arthur called as he caught up to Gwen who was hurrying down the corridor and grabbed her hand. "I need you to explain, you weren't able to last time. What happened?"

Gwen looked at the floor before sinking down to sit and hug her knees to her chest. She re-ran the events of those wonderful/terrible days over and over in her mind almost every minute of every hour of every day trying to work out why she had done what she had done. The idea of being enchanted had come to mind as a possible solution but that just seemed like she was trying to shift the blame to someone else. Then there was Morgana and the answer Morgana had given her earlier now played around her mind.

"_It's not what you've done but what you've destined to do. I'm sorry Gwen but I can't let that happen."_

What had she meant by that? Gwen didn't know and at this moment, she didn't want to. Arthur sat down across the corridor and looked steadily at Gwen, waiting on her to answer.

"It was the day after he came back. He came to my house and said he had a gift for me. After I put it on, I felt different. I can't explain it but I didn't know what I was going or where I was doing. Sometimes for a moment or so it would break and I knew where I was and what was going on and then it would overtake me again." Gwen explained.

"What do you mean?" Arthur asked.

"It was like I was obsessed or something. Suddenly he was all I could think about. All the feelings I had for you, the love I had for you, the excitement of our wedding, the idea of being with you forever; it was like I was suddenly thinking the same about him. every time it broke and I remembered that it was you I really loved and who wanted to marry and be with for the rest of our lives then those feelings returned twice as strong. It was like I was losing my mind, I didn't know what was real and what wasn't until it happened and I realised that what I was doing was wrong. Really wrong, then you came and well, you know the rest." Gwen explained, it had been like nothing she had ever felt.

"Why didn't you take it off?" Arthur asked, this was painful to hear and clearly painful for Gwen to talk about but that didn't make sense. If it was messing with her mind, why not simply remove the bracelet before she did anything she would have regretted.

"It wasn't that easy. I honestly didn't know what was real or not. What I thought was real wasn't real and what was real wasn't. By the time I did take it off, it was too late." Gwen replied.

"I still don't understand what the bracelet had to do with it." Arthur said.

"It was enchanted." Merlin said as he rounded the corner and walked up to them, sitting down in the middle of the floor, forming a triangle between the three of them.

"Enchanted?" Gwen repeated and Merlin nodded. "How can you be sure?"

"I was able to examine it closely. There appears to be a combination of a memory, mind control and love enchantment placed on it. Once you put it on you would have no control over your actions." Merlin explained and Gwen and Arthur looked at one another. Enchanted. Then that meant...

"You're innocent." Arthur said and Gwen shook her head.

"It still happened, under a spell or not." Gwen countered and looked at Merlin. "That doesn't explain everything. Where would Lancelot have gotten an enchanted bracelet?"

"That wasn't Lancelot, that was a Shade. Morgana called his soul back from the dead and forced him to do everything she commanded. He was innocent in all of this too." Merlin explained morosely, thinking about his friend who had been used so horribly and mercilessly by Morgana to try and separate his two best friends and prevent their happiness. Merlin moved to sit beside Gwen and a moment later Arthur did the same and they unconsciously wrapped their arms around each other's shoulders the way they always did.

"So Morgana did all this to try and split us apart. Yet looking at you now, I don't want to think that's the case so what does this mean?" Arthur asked and Gwen shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't know. It still happened and I can never forgive myself for that. Whatever the circumstances we still betrayed you, I still betrayed you." Gwen said and the more she thought about it, the more a blessing in disguise the exile had been. She had had to toughen up, to really look after herself because nobody else was going to, she had had to grow up and leave innocence and naivety behind. Whilst she was still Gwen, the same woman who had left Camelot on that day, she had also changed. She was older and wiser now.

"Where have you been?" Merlin asked, he knew that she had gone to Ealdor but the story of how she had been escaping Morgana that day in the woods a few weeks ago still needed explained.

"After I left Camelot, I travelled just over the border to a small village. I stayed there, helping a family by mucking out their pigs. About two weeks ago, Helios and his men raided the village, looking for recruits and killing those who put up a fight. He seen me and decided that '_there is still some pleasure to be had here'_." Gwen quoted, shivering slightly. Arthur felt a sense of rage in him and Merlin looked at her worriedly.

"Did he-" Merlin began and Gwen shook her head.

"No. He wanted to though, you saw what he made me wear. Anyway I fed him this cock-and-bull story about how I was the only survivor of a tragic barn fire that killed my fiancé and five brothers, a few minutes later Morgana arrived. I made an excuse and hid as they went into the tunnels and talked about their plans to take Camelot. I heard Morgana name Agravaine as the traitor and then I ran." Gwen explained. "Morgana found out that Helios captured me and tried to get rid of me once and for all."

"Guess her previous plan didn't work." Arthur commented and Gwen continued.

"Anyway she found me in the woods when you were having your hunt. She turned me into a doe and I was shot. When I came round, Merlin was there and told me to go to Ealdor. The rest is history." Gwen said. Somehow she knew that he was the reason she had survived that wound and as the three of them sat in a slightly silence, Merlin broke it.

"I'm not one for saying 'I told you so' but I did warn you." Merlin said and Arthur rolled his eyes.

"Yes I know. You told me time and again my uncle wasn't to be trusted but I didn't listen. The evidence of that is clear." Arthur said as he thought about all that could have been prevented if he hadn't have listened to the traitor. King Caerleon's death, separating from Guinevere, exiling her, thinking Gaius and his friends were traitors, almost all of the mistakes he had made so far as king were the result of the traitor's influence. He didn't even feel bad about the man's death, just relief that he was free from his control and poisonous influence.

"You can't blame yourself for that." Gwen said.

"Yeah, you needed support and guidance and figured that your mother's brother would be trustworthy. You weren't to know." Merlin said and Arthur shook his head.

"I think I did have my suspicions, but after losing my father and with everything happening with Morgana, I didn't want to believe it. I wanted to have that last member of my family." Arthur said. "I know it's no excuse."

"He's not your only family. What about us? Just because we aren't blood relatives doesn't mean we're not a family." Merlin said wisely. When he was younger he had always wished for siblings and when he came to Camelot, he had found them.

"Merlin's right, the knights are our brothers but the three of us, I always thought we had some sort of bond that was deeper than family or friends. I actually missed that more than anything else. The fact I couldn't see you both, that you and I would never be together again, that Merlin and I wouldn't have our little adventures and I wouldn't see you two bickering or having fun." Gwen said and Merlin nodded, smiling at her.

"I feel the same, you should have seen Arthur, he was a right state when you left. Apparently when you're not here reading results in having stew in your hair." Merlin joked and Arthur leant over and smacked the back of Merlin's head.

"Shut up Merlin." Arthur said and Gwen smiled at them.

"I never thought I'd hear those three words again." Gwen commented and after a moment they fell silent again. The truth of the situation coupled with their reunion as well as the costs that it had ensued meant that none of them were really sure as to what would or should happen next.

"So now what?" Merlin asked.

"I don't know," Arthur replied. "I've been thinking so much about what we needed to do in order to take back Camelot and now we have it back I don't really know what happens next."

"What about you Gwen? Are you going to stay?" Merlin asked and the men looked at her.

"I don't know. I do want to stay and properly reconcile with you guys but if you want me to go then I understand." Gwen replied, she didn't want to admit it but a small part of her felt as though there were too many bad memories in Camelot. the other part of her knew how much she loved and missed everyone and the fact remained that even if she and Arthur never got back together; they had been friends longer than they had been in a relationship and if they managed to be as close friends again as they were, then that would be enough. The same went for Merlin. If nothing else, she would love to have her two best friends back.

"We want you to stay." Merlin said immediately.

"Of course we do. When Isolde died, all… all I could think about what that it could have so easily have been you who had been killed. If Isolde had chased after Morgana or if Morgana had attacked you and I knew then that I never wanted to lose you again." Arthur confessed.

"I would like to stay." Gwen admitted. "I missed you both so much. My boys."

"That's great." Arthur smiled.

"Yeah, we should probably head back to the others though. I didn't really offer them much of an explanation and we need to check that Gaius, Elyan and Gwaine are alright." Merlin said and the three of them got to their feet before roping their arms around each other's' shoulders again and walking down the corridor.

Morgana had tried to separate the three of them but like all her other plans, it had failed. It seemed as though there was nothing that was powerful enough to destroy their friendship and in the end, they always found each other again.


	20. The Morning After

**AN: Modern AU**

"We'll see you in a few days," Hunith said as she hugged Merlin tightly.

"Ok Mum, enjoy yourselves." Merlin said and Balinor walked over to him and hugged him tightly.

"Now we'll call you when we land and will be checking in on you. We'll be back on Saturday." Balinor said.

"What time are Arthur and Gwen coming?" Hunith asked.

"Soon, and it's cool with their parents to stay with me." Merlin said, even though they were eighteen and going to university after the summer holidays, their parents were still that bit protective over them and unwilling to let them remain unsupervised even for a few days.

"That's good then. There's food in the fridge and some money if you need it. You have our numbers and you can ring either Tom or Uther if needs be." Hunith reassured Merlin who nodded.

"I know, you need to get going or else you'll miss your flight." Merlin reminded and after they hugged him again, Hunith and Balinor got into their car and drove off. Merlin stepped back inside and as soon as the door was shut, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and rang Arthur.

"They're gone." Merlin said, grinning as he heard Arthur and Gwen whooping at the other end of the phone.

"We're on our way. this is going to be awesome!" Arthur said and hung up. Merlin grinned and thought about what the three of them had planned, Arthur was right, it was going to be awesome.

"_You're the voice try and understand it. Make a noise and make it-"_

"Hello?" Merlin asked as he pressed his phone to the side of his head and rubbed his eyes. The sunlight pushing through the curtains only serving to worsen his already aching head.

"Hi Merlin, we've just arrived back at the airport." Hunith said and Merlin sat bolt upright.

"You are?" Merlin asked and he could hear Hunith and Balinor laughing at the other end. "What?"

"Nothing, we'll be home in about two hours or so." Hunith said.

"Uh ok see you later." Merlin replied and hung up. "ARTHUR! GWEN!"

Merlin stumbled up the stairs and found Arthur slumped in the bathroom and Gwen was sleeping in Merlin's bed, like him they were still in the clothes from the night before and he knew they would be just as hungover as he felt. Merlin shook Arthur awake, standing back as Arthur lurched towards the toilet and went to shake Gwen awake.

"Uh my head, what did we do last night?" Gwen groaned as she sat up and rubbed her eyes, smearing mascara under her eyes. "Panda eyes."

"We have a problem." Merlin said as the toilet flushed and Arthur appeared in the doorway, looking surprisingly a little bit better despite just being sick.

"Aside from the hangovers and the fact that alcohol is evil?" Arthur asked.

"My parents are on their way home." Merlin replied and Arthur and Gwen were immediately alert. That wasn't good.

"How bad is it?" Arthur asked.

"We have two hours so if we work hard then it should be doable." Merlin replied and they made their way down the stairs and into the effects of the night before. It hadn't even been that big of a party; the rest of their gang from school; Lancelot, Gwaine, Leon, Percival and Gwen's twin brother Elyan had been there. So had some of their female friends, Mithian, Freya and Elena. After threatening to blackmail them by telling their parents about the party, Arthur's young sister Morgana also tagged along with their cousin Mordred. Despite being a fairly small party, there had been a sizable mess left behind.

"What do we do?" Arthur asked as they studied the empty and almost-empty bottles, cans, plastic cups, ping-pong balls, playing cards, pizza boxes and takeaway containers that covered the lounge and kitchen.

"We get to work, there's bin bags in that drawer. We're going to need a lot of tea and coffee for this." Merlin said as Gwen pulled open the drawer and he flicked on the kettle.

The three of them got to work, throwing away any and every shard of evidence of the night before. Plastic cups and cans were crushed and put into one plastic bag. The bottles were put into the other and the food boxes and containers into a third. The playing cards were gathered up from where they had been scattered around a bowl and ping-pong balls were all over the lounge where the coffee table was covered with empty and half empty cups. As they worked, memories of the night before came to them.

"Why did we play beer-pong against Mithian? She's a champion for a reason." Gwen called as she stacked the cups up and into her bag.

"Thought we'd win." Arthur replied. "Speaking of which, didn't she and Leon get together last night?"

"That's been going on for weeks." Merlin said as he pulled some ping-pong balls from underneath the sofa and stuffed into a bag. "Why did you let me play Ring of Fire last night?"

"We didn't 'let' you, you insisted that it was your house and your party so you had to play too. Besides it was only a game." Arthur said.

"It wasn't only a game." Merlin said and thought for a moment. "This is just like The Hangover."

"Except we're eighteen, this isn't Vegas but we could still be killed by our families for what we did last night." Gwen said as she knotted her bag shut and went to dump it into the outer bin.

Bit by bit they managed to clear the house of the mess and dump it safely into the bins before quickly vacuuming the floors. After over an hour of cleaning and flashbacks of the night before the house had been restored to it's original pre-party condition. The three of them slumped onto the sofa and sighed heavily. It was barely one in the afternoon but they were exhausted. Merlin checked his watch and rubbed his eyes wearily. Arthur stretched and Gwen stood up, ran a hand through her hair and pulled a face.

"Merlin, is it ok if I get a shower? I look a mess." Gwen asked.

"Yeah go for it." Merlin replied and as she left the room, he turned to Arthur and grinned.

"You do remember what happened between you two last night?" Merlin asked and Arthur nodded.

"Yeah, don't know if she remembers though." Arthur commented.

"Nah I'm sure she does." Merlin replied and sniffed his shirt. "She's not the only one who needs a shower."

When Hunith and Balinor arrived home just over half an hour later, they found Merlin, Arthur and Gwen sitting on the sofa watching DVDs. Hunith and Balinor looked at them and glanced around the room. All seemed to be in order.

"How was your holiday?" Merlin asked.

"Very good, how were you when we were away?" Hunith asked.

"We were good, all quiet." Merlin replied.

"Yeah, we've just been chilling here." Gwen added.

"A quiet few days." Arthur said.

"That's good, we're going to go and unpack." Balinor said and they left the room. as soon as the door shut, Merlin, Gwen and Arthur looked at each other and quickly high-fived. They had actually gotten away with having a house-party and clearing everything up without any of their parents finding out. They were just too clever.

Once they left the room, Hunith and Balinor smiled knowingly at each other. They had gotten the call from Uther just as they had arrived in the airport. Apparently Morgana had come home the night before drunk, as did Elyan who admitted that he'd been at a house party. A house party at their house. However rather than let Merlin, Arthur and Gwen know that they knew they had thrown a party, they had all agreed it would be better to scare them and make them clean the mess up before they got home.

Their three children may think they were smart, but it takes a lot for a child to truly outsmart their parents.


	21. The Circle Of Life

**AN: Because who else would be there if Gwen was pregnant and about to give birth.**

Gwen winced as she felt a sharp twinge of pain and sucked in breath through clenched teeth as she walked slowly around the room, twisting a piece of fabric in her hands tightly and looking at her swollen stomach. She was two weeks away from her due date but unless she was much mistaken, the baby was getting impatient.

"Oh no!" Gwen groaned as she felt a dampness run down her legs and form a small pool under her dress. Gwen reached the door and opened it to see the guards looking at her worriedly. "Fetch Gaius and the midwives and tell them I need them. The baby is coming."

"Yes your majesty." The guards replied and hurried in different directions.

Gwen stepped back into the room and began walking slowly until another contraction forced her to sit down and cry out in pain. She was going into labour and she was alone. Of course today would be the day she persuaded Arthur and the knights to go off on a hunt. Arthur's worries had been almost unbearable over the past few days as her due date approached and the one day he calms down, she goes into labour. Almost soon as she had screamed, she had felt someone's hand on her shoulder and a tight reassuring feeling like a hug. Gwen looked up to see Merlin next to her, holding onto her as the pain tore through her body.

"You're going to be alright." Merlin reassured.

"It's too early," Gwen replied and winced as instead of a contraction, she felt the baby move as if to say '_I'm on my way Mother.'_

"No it's not, it's time for Camelot to have their new prince or princess." Merlin replied, holding Gwen as she let out another cry of pain and doubled over.

"What if I don't make it?" Gwen asked, she hadn't voiced her fear about dying in childbirth to Arthur, knowing he was already more than terrified about losing her that way without knowing she was scared too. It had been easy to dismiss her fear in the past but now that the day had come and the baby was on its way, those fears returned ten-fold.

"You will make it. I promise you, you will not die today and neither will your baby. Both of you will be healthy and strong." Merlin replied.

"Where's Arthur?" Gwen asked. "I need him."

"I'll find him," Merlin replied and Gwen shook her head.

"Please Merlin, don't leave me. I'm scared." Gwen confessed, it took a lot to admit she was scared but a baby was definitely reason enough. Merlin pressed a feather-light kiss to her forehead.

"I'll never leave you, I swear." Merlin said as Gaius and the midwives entered the room and hurried to Gwen's side, preparing their equipment and helping her out of her dress and into a nightgown. When she re-emerged from the curtain, Merlin was nowhere to be seen but before she could ask where he had ran off to, Gwen was hit by another contraction and helped into bed.

"Arthur!"

Arthur frowned and looked around for Merlin's voice and saw him running towards him. The others had gone off, Arthur having hung back at the sound of Merlin's voice.

"Merlin?" Arthur asked.

"Gwen's in labour." Merlin panted out and Arthur clutched the reigns of his horse and hurried to re-join the others.

"Guinevere's in labour, we have to go." Arthur said and hurried back to where Merlin was. Merlin climbed onto his horse and they sped off for Camelot, surprising everyone in the courtyard as they hurried into the castle towards Arthur and Gwen's chambers to find the door locked with them not permitted to enter. Apparently it was unlucky.

Nine hours later darkness had fallen and Arthur was pacing the corridor like a trapped animal. Twenty six steps one way. Turn. Twenty six steps the other way. Turn. Listen to Gwen's agonised screams and twist the fabric tightly in his hands. Repeat.

"She'll be alright." Merlin reassured Arthur for the hundredth time over the past nine hours.

"She doesn't sound alright does she?" Arthur snapped as he continued pacing. The screams were getting closer together. Twenty steps this time.

"That's a good sign, she's not giving up and is strong enough to produce a healthy child. Gwen's strong, sometimes I would say she's stronger than the both of us and right now, she's proving it." Merlin said and Arthur shook his head.

"I know Guinevere's strong but women die giving birth. My mother died, I can't lose her Merlin. Not after-" Arthur trailed off at the sound of yet another cry of pain and as he paced past Merlin, Merlin reached out a hand. He clutched tightly onto Arthur's shoulder, forcing the terrified king to face him.

"Listen to me you clotpole. Gwen is not going to die, what happened to your mother was a terrible tragedy but the circumstances are entirely different. Gwen is not going to die. She is going to give birth to a healthy child and she is going to recover and the three of you will be a family." Merlin said in a powerful and insistent tone; a tone so rarely used that Arthur actually took a step back and studied Merlin, taking in all he had said and the sincerity in his eyes and slowly nodded.

"I never thought I'd say this but you're right Merlin." Arthur said, wincing as another scream sounded through the heavy door and attacked their ears. This one however was followed a few moments later by what was unmistakeably a loud cry. Arthur looked away from the door and back at Merlin who grinned knowingly at him.

"I told you so." Merlin teased in a sing-song voice as the door was finally unlocked to let them in.

Arthur ran immediately to Gwen's side. The midwives and Gaius were clearing away the bowls, towels and bloody remains of the delivery but Arthur's attention was focused solely on his wife. Gwen was sitting up in their bed looking completely exhausted but grinning at the bundle she was holding in her arms. Arthur stepped around the bed to see a baby with tanned skin a tuft of light brown hair sleeping in Gwen's arms. Tears pricked his eyes as Gwen handed him the baby and he held the infant to his chest.

"It's a boy," Gwen whispered, her voice cracked and throat sore from the screaming.

"He's perfect," Arthur breathed, tears filling his eyes as he looked at his baby, his son. Arthur leant forwards, careful with the baby and kissed Gwen. "Thank you."

Gwen took the baby back from Arthur and removed the piece of blue fabric that she had tied around her hair when she had been changed into her nightgown so long ago. The fabric was soaked with sweat but she didn't care as she wrapped it around the blanket already covering the sleeping prince. A moment later, Arthur did the same with the red fabric he had been clutching the whole time. The two pieces of fabric which had become their prized possessions after what had happened on that terrible day six months ago. As they looked at their son, now carefully wrapped in Merlin's scarves, Arthur and Gwen looked at each other knowingly. They had both thought it but neither had said it.

"We should name him after Merlin." Gwen said and Arthur nodded, it was a fitting tribute after what had happened to Merlin six months ago. To name their first born son and future king after the man who had sacrificed his life to kill Morgana and ensure Camelot's safety and golden era of peace and that the land of Albion would be created.

"You're right." Arthur said as he smiled at his son. "Prince Merlin Pendragon."

As the family sat together, holding their new son and remembering his namesake who had been lost, Merlin smiled at them. Crossing the Veil was rarely done and usually only through accident or in the most extreme of circumstances and he knew that today had been one of those days. Today his two best friends had needed him so he had come back albeit in ghost form. Indeed as he watched Arthur hold his son who began to cry, causing Arthur to panic, he had to grin. He hadn't wanted to die but as he watched his two best friends with their new born son, he knew it was worth it.

**AN: I feel bad about that but the twist at the end had been the whole motivation for this. All sweet and nice then WHAM an attack on your feels. I know I'm terrible, feel free to flame below; I want to roast marshmallows anyway.**


	22. Beating The Beast

**AN: Set after 'Beauty and the Beast'.**

"You did what?" Gwen asked wide-eyed as Merlin and Arthur explained how they broke the enchantment that had been placed on Uther.

"I poisoned myself." Arthur repeated and smiled reassuringly at her. "Look Guinevere I'm fine. It was part of the plan."

"Poisoning yourself and almost dying was part of your plan?" Gwen repeated. She loved these two more than words could say but where was the logic in almost dying to save the kingdom.

"We had to make Uther cry Tears of Remorse to cleanse his mind and heart of the enchantment. What greater remorse is there for a father to have caused the death of his only child?" Merlin explained and grinned at her. "Besides, I had the antidote so everything was going to work out no matter what."

Well save for the fact he'd been knocked out and the vial containing the antidote had smashed but neither of them needed to know that. Who cared anyway? Arthur was perfectly fine and Uther was back to normal, talking about what had happened was punishable by death but aside from that everything was back to normal.

"I suppose," Gwen said before shaking them both by the shoulders. "But please don't do something like that again."

"We'll try," Merlin replied and Gwen hugged them both. "Hopefully we won't be dealing with trolls again."

"Indeed, the smell alone would be enough to kill someone." Arthur commented and they all laughed. Obviously the events of Lady Catrina/the troll's stay in Camelot hadn't been funny, especially when she took control, Arthur being disowned and Merlin accused of magic and almost sentenced to death. Again. However now that it was all over and done with, they could only laugh about it.

"I still can't believe your father married a troll!" Gwen said through giggles and Arthur and Merlin laughed. Through his laughter, Merlin understood why Kilgharragh found the situation so funny. It was the simple idea of Uther Pendragon of all people marrying a troll that made the situation so hilarious. Someone so opposed to magic and everything it entailed enchanted to marry a troll just seemed to be a situation to make anyone laugh. Even imagining marrying a troll and what married life to the creature would be like that caused them to laugh.

"Wait a minute if your father married a troll, does that mean…?" Merlin asked and Arthur and Gwen immediately stopped laughing and looked horrified.

"Merlin! That's disgusting!" Arthur yelled and Gwen shuddered horribly.

"Oh I'm going to have nightmares tonight." Gwen claimed as they looked at each other and laughed again. "I swear, if I'm ever put under a love spell just kill me."

"Will do," Merlin joked. "I take it Uther's pretending like it never happened."

"If anyone asks it was an 'attempt to blacken the heart of Camelot' or some stuff like that. Honestly I stopped listening to those rants of his a long time ago." Arthur explained and looked at Merlin and Gwen, aware that he couldn't have gotten through the past week or so without them.

"Is it me or does he say the same thing over and over again?" Merlin asked and Gwen shook her head.

"No, he changes the names. It's either sorcerers or traitors or in this case a troll." Gwen corrected and they laughed again. It was true, by this stage all of Uther's rants sounded exactly the same, the only thing that got changed where the causes of the rants.

"Maybe," Arthur said before looking at Merlin and Gwen. "All joking aside, I honestly could not have gotten through the past week or so without the two of you. Seriously if you weren't giving me support and helping reveal and defeat the troll, I honestly don't know where I'd be."

"It's been no trouble," Gwen replied.

"Yeah, besides I had no problem giving you poison." Merlin joked. "Anyway it's all over now. That's what matters."

"Exactly, it's over and hopefully we'll never have to deal with a troll in Camelot again." Gwen said.

"Yeah, unless you count Arthur first thing in the mornings." Merlin quipped and Arthur smacked him on the head.

Whilst it hadn't been funny when the troll was causing chaos in the kingdom and had Uther under her total control, once the situation had been resolved it was extremely hilarious to think about. The more they thought about it, the funnier and surreal the situation seemed but the fact remained, as long as the three of them stuck together then they would get through anything. Including hideous, farting trolls.


	23. September 11 2001

**AN: With it being this time of year this topic has been weighing heavily on my mind. I wanted to look at it properly as well as in a sensitive manner and felt this was one way to write about it. I hope you like this and I mean no offense to anyone.**

"OH MY GOD!"

Gwen's yell brought Merlin back to consciousness. He had the day off work and had been hoping for a lie-in however that clearly wasn't happening. The lawyer pulled himself out of bed to see what was going on, groaning at the time on the digital clock. 8:46 am.

"What's going on?" Merlin asked as Gwen stood at the lounge window of their appointment and pointed outwards. Merlin looked out the window and froze, a large cloud of smoke and fire was erupting out of one of the Twin Towers. "Shit, what happened?"

"A plane, I think it crashed." Gwen replied as she stood at the window staring out. Merlin racked a hand through his hair as they looked across the city to where the World Trade Centre could be seen across New York. However as they looked at the smoke billowing out of the building, Merlin and Gwen looked at each other, both realising the same thing at the same time and Merlin dove for the phone.

"Arthur? It's Merlin, did you see what just happened?" Merlin asked as he put the phone on loudspeaker.

"Yeah I see it, we've been told to stay in the building. It was North Tower that was hit." Arthur replied and Gwen looked at the phone in disbelief.

"Are you nuts? Get the hell out of there!" Gwen insisted and Arthur shook his head as he looked out the window.

"I'll be fine, besides the fire department will be on their way." Arthur replied calmly. "I'll see you later."

"Ok," Merlin replied as he set down the phone and switched on the TV. It didn't matter which channel they turned to, it was breaking news all over. A plane had crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade building. Neither of them moved out of the room, not even to get dressed or use the bathroom. Gwen's mug of coffee sat forgotten on the table and Merlin's morning breath didn't faze him as they stood at the window watching as smoke continued to billow out of the tower. Fifteen minutes later their hearts stopped and Gwen screamed as they watched a second plane fly towards South Tower and explode into the building.

"ARTHUR!" Gwen screamed and burst into tears. Merlin grabbed his friend and help her close as he looked at the television which was reporting immediately about the second plane and he noted the time. 9.03 am. Moments later the phone rang again.

"Arthur! Are you alright?" Merlin asked.

"I-I think so. Am I on speaker?" Arthur asked and Merlin again set the phone onto loudspeaker. "Ok the plane seemed to have hit about twenty floors up from me and I think they're starting to evacuate. I'll do my best to get out of here and I swear I'll make it home."

"You better." Gwen said with fresh tears in her eyes. "I'm being serious Arthur, just come home!"

"I will." Arthur promised. "I gotta call my Dad and Morgana and let them know I'll be all right. I'll see you later I promise."

With that Arthur hung up and Merlin held Gwen tightly to him as they both shook. How could this have happened? It was definitely not an accident. Both planes couldn't have crashed into the Twin Towers in such a short space of time, it had to be something more than that. Even as he thought that, Merlin knew exactly what it was; he had been born in Northern Ireland and knew what a terrorist attack looked like. However he also knew this was far bigger than any IRA bomb and would be far more horrific than anything they had ever seen before.

"I never told him how I feel." Gwen whispered against Merlin's shoulder prompting him to look at her curiously. "Arthur. I never told him that I've fallen for him."

"Well when he comes home you can tell him." Merlin reassured with forced optimism as he looked back out the window.

'_Get out of there you idiot!' _Merlin thought as he hugged Gwen tighter.

Arthur had arrived to work at half 8 and was just starting work when it happened. There had been a deafening roar before a massive bang. Arthur had dived to the floor and his work colleagues swore and screamed and hurried to the windows. Arthur got up and his stomach lurched at the sight of the flames licking their way up the side of the building, the impact zone was a black flaming hole in the side of the tower. Arthur looked out the window to see people in the North Tower pressed against the glass as though trying to see what had happened. Arthur looked at the impact zone, realising that everyone on those floors was most likely dead or dying. Nobody on those floors could have survived. They never saw it coming. Arthur looked above the impact zone and his heart clenched as he looked at the top floors, he knew that those people had little chance of escape if the fire spread or the tower came down. They were going to die but what about him and his tower? Surely they would be safe.

At that point the phone rang and he ran back to his desk to answer it. He had never been so relieved to hear Merlin and Gwen's voices in his life. Arthur could tell they were scared and he knew he had to reassure them. For the moment they were save and there had been no order to evacuate. Things were going to be ok. Arthur hung up and quickly rang his father to reassure him that he was safe and that he would see him and Morgana later.

Ten minutes later the fires in North Tower were spreading and Arthur could see the people in the floors above and below were getting scared. Some of them were waving what looked like sheets or their own shirts out the window. White flags. Signalling for them to be saved. As they watched, Arthur shut his eyes tightly as a man who clearly knew that he was going to die, threw himself from a window a few floors up from the top of the blast zone. Then…

"Get down!" One of his colleagues yelled helplessly and they all dove to the floor as a shadow darkened their window. A second plane... moments later the entire building shook and a blast almost deafened Arthur. Some of his colleagues screamed, others like Arthur swore a blue streak as he looked around and hurried back to his desk and quickly called Merlin and Gwen again and reassured them that he would be safe. Once he had hung up, Arthur rang his father again and this time, Morgana was there too.

"Our tower's been hit." Arthur said. "I'm safe and I swear I'm going to get out of here."

"You better," Morgana replied. "I mean it Arthur, I don't care how you do it but please get out of there."

"I will. I love you, both of you." Arthur said and hung up again as his co-workers discussed what to do. They were on the 57th floor and from what they had heard from others who had had family members calling them, the plane seemed to have hit somewhere around the 77th floor. Even though it was twenty floors above them, it did little to make them feel safe. If anything it added to their fears. The force of the explosion would either cause the entire building to catch fire or send it crashing to the ground. Finally…

"We need to get out of here." One of Arthur's co-workers said. "I have a family, three kids. I'm going to get home to them."

"My father's having an operation tomorrow. I need to be there for him." Another said and all of them had their reasons for going home. Their family, their friends, a wedding, a close one's pregnancy, their kid's dance recital or softball game. Even little things like one of them had joked about leaving the laundry on the line served as motivations to get out of the tower and make it home. Despite being told to remain where they were and wait to be evacuated, all of them came to the same agreement.

"We have to survive and to do that we need to get out of here." Arthur said and he approached his desk once more to make some calls. All around him, his co-workers had been doing the same. All of them had been ringing family and friends to find out what had happened and to reassure them that they were still alive and for the moment, relatively safe. Just before half past nine, Arthur rang Merlin and Gwen again.

"We're going to try and get out of the tower." Arthur informed them. "It hit about twenty floors above us but honestly, I won't be safe until I'm out of here and on the ground."

"Good, you need to get out of there. You're our best friend Arthur, we're not losing you." Merlin said. "Seriously Arthur, come home."

"I will," Arthur replied truthfully. "You guys are my best friends and seriously if I didn't have you guys I don't know where I'd be. I love you guys so much."

"Save the speech for when you get home." Gwen said. "You can tell us face to face."

"I will but just in case, no hear me out." Arthur said as both Merlin and Gwen started to interrupt him. "Just in case I don't make it, look after each other. Merlin you're the brother I've always wanted and Gwen, Guinevere, I love you and not just as a friend. I do love you but if I don't make it, never let that stop you from being happy. Both of you promise me that if I don't make it you will look after each other and be there for each other."

"We promise," Merlin replied. "You're my brother too Arthur. My bossy annoying older brother and I need him home. You get my brother home do you hear me?"

"Loud and clear." Arthur replied with a small smile. "Guinevere are you there?"

"I'm here and I love you too. So please Arthur, please come home." Gwen said her breath hitching as she tried to control the tears falling down her face and her body trembling with fear.

"I will, I promise. I gotta go now, we're all going to try and get out of here. I'll see you guys soon, I promise." Arthur said.

"Ok, bye Arthur." Merlin replied.

"Bye," Gwen added.

Arthur hung up the phone and grabbed his jacket before joining his colleagues who were either piling out the door or finishing speaking to their loved ones. However as they got to the stairs, they were packed with other employees trying to get out. The elevators were down and the stairs were the only route out. Arthur stepped onto the stairs and slowly but surely, he was able to make his way down to the twentieth floor before the building began shaking more and more heavily and ominously. As he made his way down the stairs, Arthur thought of the most important people in his life. His father Uther, who had raised them single-handedly ever since his mom had died when he was three. His sister Morgana who had been married for just over a year and who Arthur suspected may or may not be pregnant. Merlin who had become his best friend and brother, inseparable from the day they met. Both of them had started at NYU and were roommates. Guinevere who was a law student like Merlin and became his other best friend for years before she also stole his heart. Finally they reached the ground floor and the moment they were off the stairwell, the people inside the tower began sprinting as quickly as they could to get to the nearest exits. Arthur checked his watch the moment he reached the ground floor.

It was 9:46 am, just over an hour since the first plane hit. Had it really been an hour? It felt so much longer.

Arthur made his way outside and into what looked like a warzone. There were cops, fire crews and paramedics everywhere. People were running and helping each other get to safety as bricks, metal concrete and glass fell to the ground around them. Arthur shielded his head and began running. He had managed to get a good distance down the street when he heard a booming roar, far louder and worse than any he had heard all morning. Arthur looked over his shoulder and began sprinting as fast as he could.

Behind him the South Tower was crumbling before it collapsed in on itself like a house of cards and smoke billowed upward and a massive dust cloud burst out of the wreckage. His heart pounding, his breath coming in short gasps, smoke and dust and goodness knows what else entered his body as he held a sleeve uselessly in front of his face and kept running. The smoke completely enveloped him, turning the sunny morning into total darkness but Arthur didn't stop running, he could feel and hear things falling around him, he could hear people screaming and stumbling but he kept running. The desire to save himself and stay alive surpassed all his other instincts. His lungs were burning, his heart was pounding, his body was aching, his eyes were streaming with tears but still he ran until finally, the smoke seemed to clear and he fell back into daylight. Arthur fell to his knees and retched. He was completely grey and covered in dust and debris and ash, there was blood pumping from cuts on his arms and legs but he was still alive. He was on his knees and vomiting into a gutter like any college student but the fact he was able to move, to breath, the fact his heart was beating and air was slowly returning to his lungs meant one thing.

He was alive.

As Arthur struggled to his feet and began limping down the street, he could see other survivors who had managed to make it as far as he had. There were the sounds of sirens heading towards the towers, no _tower, _South Tower was gone and people who were stumbling around looking just as lost as he felt as well as those who were in shops or hotels who had stayed in order to try and help anyone who came their way. Arthur entered one of the shops and asked the shocked looking owner if he could use their phone.

Neither Merlin or Gwen stopped their screams or tears as they watched South Tower collapse before their eyes. neither of them attempted to cling to the hope that Arthur had gotten out, even if he had they couldn't know that he got away far enough before the building came down and he wouldn't have been killed by collapsing concrete or metal. Merlin sank to the floor sobbing like a child and Gwen jumped up every time the phone rang but it hadn't been Arthur, instead Hunith and Tom had rang to check on them and ask about Arthur. They tried calling Arthur's cell phone but the signal was being affected by overuse. Clearly everyone in the city who knew of anyone in or near the Twin Towers was trying to call them to ensure they were safe. Whilst Merlin sat on the floor sobbing, Gwen took a photograph off the mantelpiece. Gwen sat next to Merlin and placed one hand around his shoulders, the other held the photograph in front of her.

It was of the three of them but there wasn't any special occasion or holiday. Gwen had gotten a new camera and they had been messing around with it, snapping silly pictures and pulling stupid poses. This one however, Morgana had taken of them and it was simply the three of them standing with their arms around each other, pressed closely together as they grinned for the camera. There had been no reason for the photo, it wasn't anyone's birthday or the fourth of July or Christmas, it was just an ordinary picture. They were three best friends who were young, happy and loving living their lives to the full, unaware of what could or would happen in the future. Then again, even yesterday they had no idea of what was going to happen.

People say that one moment can change the world and until now Gwen never believed it. However she knew that morning as she had stood by the window, her morning cup of coffee in her hands and watching a plane crash into the North Tower, she knew the world had changed in that moment and nothing would be the same again.

Gwen wiped her eyes and hugged Merlin tightly as they looked at the TV, somehow watching it on the TV instead of out the window made it less real in a sense. Like it was just a scene from a movie or TV show instead of real life. Their lives. Gwen shut her eyes at 10:28 as the North Tower crumbled and collapsed to the ground. A few minutes later, when they dared to open their eyes again, the phone began ringing. Gwen looked at Merlin before slowly getting up off the floor and nervously picking up the phone, again pressing the button to put it onto speaker.

"H-hello?" Gwen asked, unable to produce any logical thought or even any hope or prayer as for what felt like an eternity, there was silence.

"Guinevere? Merlin? Are you there?" Arthur asked.

"Arthur!" Gwen breathed as Merlin pulled himself up off the floor.

"Arthur? Is that you?" Merlin asked. "Where are you?"

"I'm not sure, in a store a few blocks away. I made it though, got out at quarter to and managed to get some distance before it came down. I'm safe though, a little roughed up but I'm safe." Arthur said, his voice thick with emotion. Now that he was out of the Tower and the knowledge that North Tower had also collapsed and the realisation of what had happened, what he had survived and almost hadn't hit him like a ton of bricks, which ironically, had almost literally hit him.

"You know I love you guys right?" Arthur said. "I'm not just saying it because of what happened. I honestly do love you guys and aside from my dad and Morgana, it was thinking of you two that got me out of there. I just… I love you guys so much. You're my best friends and mean everything to me."

"We love you too Arthur, seriously." Gwen replied. "_I_ love you Arthur and I mean it the way I say it."

"Good, maybe I could take you out to dinner sometime." Arthur said with a small smile.

"I don't need that, I just need you home." Gwen replied.

"Hey I love you too Arthur, where's my dinner?" Merlin asked, his first reaction being to make a joke and surprisingly all three of them laughed. However Merlin and Gwen looked at each other concerned as Arthur's laugh turned into a hacking cough. "Are you alright?"

"Just some dust. I'll be fine. I'm going to try and make my way home and I seriously will see you soon." Arthur said reassuringly and genuinely, knowing he would make it home this time.

"See you soon, I love you Arthur, not just as a best friend but as my brother. So come home bro," Merlin said and Arthur smiled.

"I'm on my way." Arthur said and hung up the phone. He turned and thanked the shop owner, refusing any offer of a ride home as he instead wanted to walk back. He wanted to feel the sunlight on his skin and despite the sirens and the smoke still billowing in the distance and the knowledge that hundreds, if not thousands of people were dead, Arthur kept walking. He kept walking because he knew he had to move forwards. The entire world will have stopped to watch what happened in New York and he knew that what happened wasn't over, that it was most likely going to start a whole rake of problems and issues in the future. However at this moment in time, when all he wanted to do was go home, take a shower and be with his family and friends, Arthur knew that whatever happened next, as long as he had Merlin and Gwen by his side, then he would be OK.

**AN: There are certain days in your life that you never forget. Different days in history which almost become part of your life because they are so memorable. I was 7 when 9/11 happened and I still remember coming home from school to see my mum sitting in the living room watching Sky News and for the rest of the evening, me, my mum and my 9 year old sister stayed watching it. I didn't understand what was going on but I knew it was something big and something I would never forget. **


End file.
